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August, 2010, Vol. 31, No. 46SCJ NEWSSCJ ministryreturns to St.Teresa MissionRoots of South AfricanProvince in rural missionAfirst-time visitor to St. TeresaMission in the Diocese ofAliwal North, South Africa,notices many things. First, there arethe children. Young children andteenagers; laughing, playing gamesand practicing music for an upcomingMass.There are ladies in purple, representingthe St. Ann Society. Otherwomen pour out from the kitchen,hands busy, preparing a feast-daymeal.And soccer balls. During 2010 ––the year of the World Cup –– it seemsthat soccer balls are everywhere.Two young SCJ priests –– Frs.Ntsikelelo Bambatha and JoshuaMorosi Mpiti –– wander between thejoyful chaos. Ordained in December,2009, they are the reason that thePriests of the Sacred Heart are back atSt. Teresa following a five-year hiatus.“God is very good to us,” said Fr.Peter Surdel, SCJ. The provincial superiorof the South African Province, Fr.Peter has a special fondness for St.Frs. Joshua and Ntsikelelo with some of St. Teresa's youth. Human trafficking and smugglingis an incredible problem. 187 young people from St. Teresa Mission were a part oflarger youth gathering working to bring to light the issue in the wake of the World Cup.Here some of the young people hold up the posters that encourage teens not to fallprey to traffickers.Teresa Mission. As a young missionaryhe spent several years there in ministryand remembers a time in the not-toodistantpast when there were no pavedroads or electricity in the area. For himpersonally, and for the province, it wasa difficult decision to leave St. Teresa.But there simply were not the personnelto staff the parish. It’s a familiar storyheard in many parts of the world, notjust in South Africa’s rural countryside.Frs. Ntsikelelo and Joshua ––South Africans who grew up in townsnear St. Teresa –– were the first prieststo be ordained for the South AfricanProvince since 2002.When Fr. Peter said that “God isvery good to us,” he was not only gratefulfor the two new SCJ priests, but SCJpriests whose language skills were aperfect match for St. Teresa. Half of thepeople of the parish speak Sesotho andhalf speak Xhosa. “Coincidentally, oneof our new priests speaks Sesotho andFr. Peter Surdel, provincial superior, teases Fr. Ntsikelelo abouthis South African soccer jersey a week before the World Cup.Children lead the way during an outdoor Corpus Christi processionat St Teresa Mission.
August, 2010, Vol. 31, No. 47one speaks Xhosa,” said Fr. Peter. “It isProvidence."With Frs. Ntsikelelo and Joshua,the Priests of the Sacred Heart returnedto one of the community’s first ministriesin South Africa, for it was nearSt. Teresa’s that the SCJs establishedtheir first mission in the country.Pope Pius XI asked Fr. Leo JohnDehon, SCJ founder, to send missionariesto South Africa. In 1923, fourmembers of the German Province arrivedin Aliwal North (now the locationof the South African provincialate).Today, sitting in a church with pewsfilled from end to end, it is hard to imaginethat when the SCJs first came toHerschel District that Catholicism wasgenerally unknown among the localpeople. The Dutch Reformed andAnglican Churches introducedChristianity to the area but it was not untilthe SCJs arrived that Catholic Churchhad a presence in the district.Apartheid wouldn’t be institutionalizedin South Africa until 1948,but even in the 1920s civil laws madeit difficult for European missionariesto have a presence in a predominantlyblack area. Land could only be purchasedfor business reasons.After several years the SCJ missionariesfinally got a foothold in thearea when a “colored” (the SouthAfrican term for people of mixed race)man decided to sell one of his businessesin the area because it had beenplagued by floods. Knowing that theSCJs wanted to acquire property he offeredto sell it to them, though at a pricefar higher than the flood-prone propertywas worth.Even though the cost was inflated,the SCJs jumped at the opportunity.A check was written and the businessmanlooked at it for a few minutes.He then he tore it up and declared thatthe four-acre plot of land would be hisgift to the Church.Providence is often present at St.Teresa.The “Mission Among the Ruins” asit was known, started in 1927 with twoSCJs based in a tent pitched between ashed and a few other dilapidated outbuildings.Weather permitting, Masswas celebrated in theopen air.From that “MissionAmong theRuins” came St. TeresaMission, which now includes aschool that serves 1,300 students and aclinic staffed by the Sisters of Charityof Ottawa. There are also several outstations,as well as dozens of smallChristian communities.Besides Frs. Ntsikelelo and Joshua,many others are vital in keeping thedreams of those early SCJ missionariesalive. Fr. Anthony Austin, SCJ, one ofthe first South Africans to join thePriests of the Sacred Heart, came out ofretirement to mentor the new priests.And then there is CeciliaMcKenzie, a long-time pastoral ministerand constant presence at theparish. Theyouth in particularknow her andrespect her. All ittakes is a quickglance fromMcKenzie to refocusa couple ofteens horsingaround in theback of church.Young peoplewith questions,young people introuble andFr. Joshua speaks to the people.young peoplesimply with a desireto participate in their church cometo “Mama Cecilia” as she is called;“Mama Cecilia” being the SouthAfrican equivalent to “Miss Cecilia” inthe American South.The energy found in a feast-dayliturgy is contagious. The enthusiasmand sense of welcoming at St.Teresa is more than obvious. Butthere is also much challenge. Locatedin a small township about a 45-minute drive from Aliwal North,most of those who worship at thechurch are poor. There is always concernfor local youth and how theirlives can be better. Worried thatyoung people in the area would fallprey to human trafficking during theWorld Cup, parish leaders took 187View more photos fromSouth Africa at:www.scjusa.smugmug.comThere are three South African albumsprior to the Election Assembly photos.young peoplefrom St. Teresa’s to join ina larger youth gathering to learnhow to avoid becoming another statisticin the human trafficking tragedy.Jobs are scarce, and the problemsfrequently found alongside povertyare prevalent.Yet amidst the challenge, there isstill an incredible sense of community,of welcoming and hospitality; a sensethat Providence is very present at St.Teresa Mission.The U.S. Province has long had aspecial relationshipwith the South AfricanProvince since it wasone of the two “motherprovinces” of the entity(the other being theGerman Province).Many Americans haveserved in South Africa,including Fr. JohnStrittmatter, SCJ, whocontinues there, as wellas Bishop Joe Potocnak,SCJ. The bishop, nowin retirement, is currentlyfilling in for vacationingSCJs.Other SCJs with ties to the UnitedStates include many alumni of the ESLprogram at Sacred Heart School ofTheology. Fr. Sandro Capoferri, SCJ, amember of the formation team inPietermaritzburg, is an alumnus, aswell as the newly appointed bishop ofDe Aar, Bishop Adam Musialek, SCJ.In future issues of the SCJ News,and on our website (www.sacredheartusa.org),we will share more storiesabout South Africa.To view photos taken at severalSCJ locations in South Africa earlierthis summer, including the celebrationof Corpus Christi at St. Teresa Mission,please go to the province photo site at:www.scjusa.smugmug.com and clickon the appropriate galleries.
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