South Africa’s first beatification South Africa’s first beatification took place in a field in Tshitanini village outside Thohoyandou in front of a crowd of 35000 from all over South Africa, presided over by Cardinal Angelo...

Pope Pius XII couldn’t prevent war Interventions by Pope Pius XII to prevent war have proved fruitless. Pope Pius had asked Hitler to wait for 14 days before invading Poland, confident that an agreement could...

Unjust elections in a climate of hope In a pastoral letter, the bishops of Southern Africa say that despite “deep tensions”, the September 6 election—which is “unjust because it excludes the majority of the people”—nevertheless...

Pope Pius XII speaks to South Africa Pope Pius XII has made his first radio broadcast to South Africa—the first to an Allied country since the liberation of Rome from Nazi occupation in June. In...

Prayers for the banned Those in power in South Africa cannot see the gulf between Christian civilisation and what their apartheid policies actually achieved, Archbishop Denis Hurley of Durban told a service at Emmanuel cathedral,...

New bishop for Cape Town Bishop Francis Hennemann has been appointed vicar apostolic of the Western Vicariate to succeed Bishop Bernard O’Reilly, who resigned last year. By chance, German-born Bishop Hennemann—a charismatic figure with a...

Bishop condemns detention, intimidation Bishop John Murphy of Port Elizabeth has condemned the detention of three anti-apartheid activists—Sipho Bothile, Krishna Varma and Dimza Pityana—and the firing of shots and vandalism in an attack on the...