In 1873 August, the first missionaries Fr Gaudel SMA and Fr Pasquereau arrived at Port Nolloth, Cape Town, South Africa. They served few Catholics and others who were working the mines of O’Kiep, Springbok. After the couple of years, they moved to the place called Pella which was a fair prospect for a mission; they continued to stay there for 10 years. After these 2 missionaries, the other SMA missionaries came and served in Mossel Bay, George Town, James Town, Oudtshoorn and Pella.
It is recorded that 17 SMA missionaries were working in the Prefecture of Central Cape. In 1883, the Superior in France withdrew them to concentrate on West African coast. The SMA fathers would not return to South Africa again until 1985. After 102 years, the Irish province sent Fr Vincent Brennan and Fr Colm McKeogh to South Africa in 1985. They were assigned to work in Rustenburg. With their arrival, SMA presence in South Africa was re-established again. At present, 11 SMA priests are working in three dioceses: 4 from Ireland, 3 from Nigeria and one each from Ivory Coast, Togo, India and Zambia.
Now I (Fr. Domonic Sugaraj from India) am serving in St Columba Parish under the Archdiocese of Pretoria. It is 99 years old; next year in October it will celebrate centenary jubilee. On 27th July 2020, I was appointed here. It is a small town parish having mixed groups of culture, language, and colour. At the end of 2020, the Archbishop Anthony Dapulla Mkapa appointed me as an Episcopal Vicar in charge of Marriage and Family life commission for its mission and activities.
Vision: Christ centred families towards the fullness of life.
Mission: Empowerment of families through Sacramental, Psychological and Temporal support
Goal:
- Live a happy and healthy family life
- Make the family to know of its obligation and threats
- Assisting families which are in distress and under threats
- Enabling each family to become an Evangelising community.
Activities: Family Retreats (married couples, single parents, widows and widowers, grandparents and youth), seminar and workshop on marriage encounter, accompaniment, child protection, providing educational programmes and legislative guidelines on family life.
- Making church teaching on marriage and family life available to people
- Healing the family wounds by spiritual moral and psychological accompaniment
- Developing self esteem, personal and emotional maturity
- Restoring families from conflicts, resentment, violence and addictions
- Celebrating Sacraments with people in special needs
- Guidance to practice Gospel values in the family
“To strive for the building up of the people of God through their Marriage and family”. Canon law 226, #1
“Families are sent as missionary disciples, to be an essential agents in evangelisation” – Pope Francis
Breaking every yoke------Isaiah 58: 6
This is the mission I have taken up to make every family as evangelising community; prior to this the family has to be evangelised first; this is one way to seize the opportunity to proclaim the Word of God.
Sugaraj Dominc SMA
