175 Years of Hope

Dear Pilgrims of Hope, I thought I’d interrupt my planned series of reflections on the upcoming Holy Year, to pay tribute to a special group of women religious, the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption.

Today marks 175 years since the arrival of the first group of nuns on South African soil, under the leadership of the 27-year-old Sr Gertrude de Henningsen (Read more about Mother Gertrude and the MSA, in the November Southern Cross). They were part of a rather new Congregation, the Religious of the Assumption, which had been founded 10 years earlier in Paris, France, by St Marie Eugenie. Their charism was the education of young girls while rebuilding the church following the French Revolution. Destined for Grahamstown (now Makhanda), where they would arrive on 15 December 1849, they became pioneering missionaries, having accepted the invitation of Bishop Aidan Devereux of the Eastern Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope (now the Diocese of Port Elizabeth, Gqeberha). This was a rural farming district, culturally volatile and on the brink of a territorial war. The brave Sr Getrude decided to remain in Grahamstown against all odds. The Congregation would eventually break away from their Order in France, becoming the Missionary Sisters of the Assumption (MSA); their motto, “Thy Kingdom Come”. Mother Getrude is said to have encouraged the steady growing Congregation to give themselves unreservedly to God, becoming a docile instrument in his hands.

Crest of the MSA
(Courtesy: MSA Facebook)

Roughly 200 years before their arrival, the practice of the Catholic faith in South Africa had been prohibited successively under Dutch and British colonial rule. Now that the Catholic Church had been emancipated in the Netherlands, England and Ireland, and consequently in South Africa, the MSA came to support the local Catholics joining the missionary fervour of those early bishops and priests who were set on establishing the church here. They went on from their humble beginnings in Grahamstown to establish schools and provide health care in other parts of the diocese, as well as other parts of the country and even beyond, moving, as it were, along the route which the evangelising mission was tracing on the southern-most tip of Africa.

It is here where their connection with Schauderville deserves a mention. Following the displacement of many communities as a result of the Group Areas Act in the 1950s, the MSA moved into what would become the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth. In fact, they were part of “Schauder Township” from its inception even before the church of St James was built. You can imagine the difficulties experienced by a group of mainly Irish women living among the people under the draconian Apartheid rule. They adopted a policy of non-discrimination, serving all people despite their race, class or creed. They served the community with devotion until they relinquished the convent to the expanding St Teresa’s Primary School. Together with St James High School, it stands as a testimony of their contribution to education in our country.

One should also acknowledge the role which our Diocese played in the expansion of religious life in the local church. Shortly after the arrival of the MSA, Bishop Devereux invited the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who went on to evangelise large parts of the country. Later, Bishop Ricards would invite the Trappists (and perhaps even the Jesuits) to Dunbrody near Addo, who became the Mariannhill Missionaries under Abbot Franz Pfanner. Other Congregations of women religious, like the Dominicans, would follow suite. The group from Augsburg, Germany, would become the King Williams Town Dominicans. These were all missionaries of hope. 

I stumbled across a Mass of Thanksgiving live from St Augustine’s Cathedral while scrolling through Facebook a few of weeks ago. One of the sisters was sharing how Sr Gerturde and her companions gave thanks to God in that very place following a difficult journey of three months by sea. This is itself an image of the Church setting out on mission in the world, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the ends of the earth (cf. Mt 28:16ff). 

Some of the Sisters following the
Mass of Thanksgiving
(Courtesy: St Augustine's PE Facebook)

The MSA have always been a relatively small Congregation. Under the patronage of Our Lady assumed into heaven, they have adapted to the changes facing religious life today, opening the way for local vocations. They offer us a lasting example of faith and perseverance as we live out our own mission of hope in an age of despair.

 

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

3 December 2024

Memorial of St Francis Xavier, Co-Patron of Mission