"It has been about a week since my last post, and I wish to send a long overdue update on how my trip to South Africa has gone.
I left Madagascar on November 27. The visit had been an enjoyable and productive one, and I was so happy how it had turned out. If truth be told, there were times when I was not sure whether or not the planning would come together for me to be able to go. However, thanks to the hospitable efforts of Fr. Bertrand and the others at the La Salette community, the visit was wonderful. The children were devout, the teachers and priests were receptive.
On the morning of November 27, just after I woke up, I received notice from the airline that my flight to Nairobi had been delayed from 4:30 p.m. to 9:40 p.m. Some hours later, they sent an update that the delay would be until 10:40 p.m. My connecting flight from Nairobi to Johannesburg, originally slated for a 9:00 p.m. departure, would now be at 7:45 a.m. the next day. Thus, instead of coming in around midnight, I would be arriving at 11:00 a.m. the next day. This was a bit unfortunate as it necessitated the shifting of some meetings that morning.
Nevertheless, after these initial changes, the flight schedule held steady with no delays. At the airport, the man checking me in was kind enough as to let me get by with two overweight bags without penalty.
The flight departed uneventfully, and I arrived at Nairobi airport at around 2:00 a.m. Trying to sleep as best I could, I found little success and instead contented myself with saying a few prayers and wandering around the terminal a bit. In the course of this, I ran across a bishop from Zambia; we met, and I told him about the Children’s Rosary; we exchanged contact info.
The arrival in Johannesburg went smoothly though the wait in the line for passport control was unexpectedly long and slow. This left Gail Walters, the lady coordinating my visit in South Africa, to wait by the arrivals terminal for nearly two hours.
While I was there, we spoke about the big challenges facing the community there, which were as Deacon Alpheus told me, “alcohol, gangsterism, and drugs.”
Each of these in turn has had a devastating effect on South African society, not just in Johannesburg but also in Cape Town, Kimberley, and many other large cities.
Children grow up in families where lifestyles built around these are considered necessary to survive. In certain neighborhoods around Johannesburg, killings of innocent people and vengeful shootings are quite common. Children are often made to think this is the only way for their family to make money, and so they are brought into the culture of crime early on.
I met Fr. Tony, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate who is also the pastor of the parish. Fr. Tony welcomed me right in, showing me to my room and giving me a tour of the premises. A few years ago, that parish was the motherhouse of the OMI order, but since they have moved, there are numerous vacant rooms there.
That afternoon, Gail and I went to go run some errands that were needed, such as collecting funds for the trip. We took a drive into Sandton, a suburb of Johannesburg and one of the most affluent postal codes in the country. It is home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and numerous notable hotels and convention centers. Whereas Johannesburg has seen somewhat of a long decline in the last few years and a deterioration of the downtown, Sandton has drunk deeply of the cup of Johannesburg’s urban flight, absorbing much of the wealth that has fled Johannesburg.
In the evening, we returned to the parish for a Christmas market. Small stands had been erected surrounding the parish hall on the broad field, each with some small array of goods to sell. One had pickles, one had fruit concoctions, one had candles, and one had Christmas trinkets. Everyone was enjoying taking in the early summer evening and the Christmas carols being performed on the stage nearby.
On Sunday, I had an engagement to speak at the parish of St. Anthony in Coronationville. Just before the final blessing, Deacon Alpheus invited me up to address the congregation. I spoke on the importance of the Rosary and the Blessed Virgin Mary in our spiritual lives, and I encouraged the congregation to begin a Children’s Rosary group. After the Mass, the parochial vicar (who had been the celebrant), told me they were thinking to begin the groups in the Catechism classes. Many congregants came up to share their thoughts and ideas of places I should go, which was very helpful for later developments.
That afternoon was rather calm; after attending to a few more pressing matters, Gail returned me to the parish where I had a nice dinner with Fr. Tony.
On Monday, we went to visit the Padre Pio retreat center near Pretoria (shown directly above). This is a Franciscan retreat center where a lot of retreatants stay. We were welcomed and taken around by Fr. Ewald Nangay(shown below), originally from Tanzania.
As a Capuchin, he knew Archbishop Ruwa’ichi, whom I had met when I was in Dar es Salaam, and he knew some of the priests I had worked with in Moshi. I thought the visit very fruitful as the priests at the retreat center meet many people as they come in and are thus able to spread the word about the movement.
That afternoon, we had lunch with Cynthia Stimpel and Deacon Rodrigues, with whom I had recorded the radio show. It was interesting to get to know both of them. Cynthia had worked for many years for South African Airways and had been fired for blowing the whistle on a high-profile corruption scandal that rocked the airline for years.
My final day in Johannesburg was Tuesday. In the morning, we went to visit the Chancery and the education offices. We met with, among others, Fr. Jean-Marie, the chancellor. Our meetings with them were productive, and we were able to identify ways to work together to role out the Children’s Rosary in the schools and parishes. Since it is now school vacation time, any work with the Catholic schools in South Africa will likely have to wait until summer break is over.
In the afternoon, we stopped in at a healing service with Fr. Joseph Wilson, an Irish-born priest known for his work in the healing and deliverance ministry across South Africa. The service, before the Blessed Sacrament, was very powerful; people were prayed over, and some had physical reactions; it reminded me of Pope Francis’s metaphor of the Catholic Church as a “field hospital.” Truly, here was Christ, working through his priests, among his people, healing their spiritual wounds.
I wished to speak a bit with Fr. Wilson at the end and seek his advice concerning some matters in my own life. The result was that we had a close shave on the drive to the bus station that evening. Every time we ran into some traffic, the ETA inched dangerously close to the departure time, rendering us nervous and antsy. Nevertheless, we arrived with plenty of time, and the bus hit prodigious amounts of traffic on the way into Johannesburg.
Finally, though, it arrived, and I boarded with Deacon Alpheus, who had agreed to accompany me on my little tour of South Africa. After leaving Johannesburg, we set out for Aliwal North, Port Elizabeth, Noupoort, Cape Town, and Oudtshoorn. What became of us on this adventure I will leave to the following post."
To see all of Asher's dispatches from his journey click HERE
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