Bishop Jan De Groef: The Ecumenist
Addressing the January plenary session of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference, outgoing president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka paid tribute to five bishops who are expected to retire soon...
Simmermacher
Cardinal Napier: 44 Years a Bishop
Addressing the January plenary session of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference, outgoing president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka paid tribute to five currently active bishops who are expected to...
Bishop Sithembele Sipuka’s Final Address as SACBC President
In his final address as president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha highlighted key challenges facing the Catholic Church in...
St Sebastian: The Undercover Christian
Name at birth: Sebastianus Born: c.255 AD in Narbo Martius, Gaul (today Narbonne, France) Died: c.288 in Rome Feast: January 20 Patronages: Soldiers; plagues; archers; athletes; disabled...
Lisa Faith Augustine: Teaching Faith through Photos
By publishing a book designed to catechise within families, Lisa Faith Augustine combined three of her passions: the Catholic faith, photography, and children. She told Günther Simmermacher...
A Year of Grace and Growth
Dear Reader, as we enter the Jubilee Year 2025, we might reflect with awe that we are joining our ancestors in faith in a special Church tradition...
The Holy Innocents: The First Martyrs for Christ
After the Magi let it slip that they were looking for the newborn King of the Jews, the tyrant King Herod ordered a massacre of all infant...
Christmas Traditions in 3 Countries
GERMANY The BUZZ: In Germany, Santa Claus visits twice: on December 6 in the form of St Nicholas, who places small gifts in polished shoes, and again...
The Story behind ‘Away in a Manger’
Günther Simmermacher’s biography of a Christmas carol – Everybody knows the carol “Away In A Manger”, but nobody knows who wrote the words. One tradition has it that...
The Big Christmas Quiz
1. Which city is furthest from Bethlehem? a) Cairo b) Jerusalem c) Nazareth 2. Which South African archbishop was born on Boxing Day? a) Buti Tlhagale b)...
