FINDING A HOME
This painting represents the reality of so many people in the world looking for a place to stay, especially as they flock into crowded modern cities, searching for jobs or fleeing from various situations of conflict. The need to create living spaces for them is acute. Like Joseph and Mary, who found no place at the inn, millions of people risk ending up unsheltered in the streets and deprived of a dignified dwelling which they can call home.
Painting by Fr Raul Tabaranza MCCJ
ANCHORED IN HOPE, PILGRIMS OF LIFE
2025 is a Jubilee Year, an extraordinary event of grace in the life of the Church. Its theme, Pilgrims of hope, speaks to all of us who search for ways to experience it amid uncertainties and numerous challenges.
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PRETORIA LAUNCHES THE JUBILEE YEAR 2025
On 29 December 2024, the Archdiocese of Pretoria launched the Jubilee Year 2025, an event of renewal, reconciliation, and hope. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart overflowed with worshippers who answered the call of Archbishop Dabula Mpako, presider of the Mass and ceremony, and his Auxiliary Bishop, Masilo Selemela, to embrace this sacred year.
SOUTHERN AFRICAN BISHOPS GATHER FOR FIRST 2025 PLENARY SESSION
The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) convened in Pretoria for their first annual plenary session of 2025, and was marked by the Opening Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit held at St John Vianney Seminary on Tuesday, 21 January 2025.
THE FINAL DOCUMENT FROM THE SYNOD: MAIN IDEAS AND PROPOSALS
The final document from the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which concluded on 27 October 2024, outlines propositions aimed at promoting a more synodal Church. It emphasizes transparency, accountability, and the active participation of all Church members, seeking to align decision-making and expand lay roles in ecclesiastical life.
CHAPO’S HEAVY BURDEN: RESTORING MOZAMBIQUE’S FRACTURED SOCIAL FABRIC
Daniel Chapo, Mozambique’s recently inaugurated fifth president, inherits a nation embroiled in violent post-electoral protests which have in just three months led to over 300 deaths, and destroyed businesses and social infrastructure.
BRINGING HOPE TO POLITICS
There is no doubt that South Africa has a housing shortage. Every city and large town has informal settlements, some of them extending for kilometres and hosting tens of thousands of people.
TIME OF HOPE FOR THE CHURCH IN AFRICA
The author delves into a deeper understanding of the key aspects of the Pope’s 2025 Jubilee Bull of Indiction—formal announcement or proclamation—entitled Spes non Confundit (Hope does not disappoint, in Latin).
PILGRIMS OF HOPE IN THE CHURCH-FAMILY OF GOD IN AFRICA
The Church-Family of God in Africa, with her unique perspective and spiritual richness, is called upon to participate in the Jubilee 2025. The theological virtue of hope takes on a special meaning for Africa.
JUBILEE 2025: A KAIROS OF GRACE
A Jubilee is a holy time of joy, of coming back to God for a unique encounter with Christ; a time for forgiveness and reconciliation, an opportunity to receive indulgences and to return to the essence of fraternity.
HEIRS TO THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA
The Church-Family of God in Africa, with her unique perspective and spiritual richness, is called upon to participate in the Jubilee 2025. The theological virtue of hope takes on a special meaning for Africa.
EVERYBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE
Hermann Mahunan Djimini is a Comboni Missionary from Cotonou, Benin. He will profess his final vows on 8 February 2025. The following day he will be ordained as Deacon at Holy Family Parish-Waterval, Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, by Bishop Thaddaeus Kumalo.
HEART OF JESUS, LOVE FOR THE WORLD
In his recent encyclical, Pope Francis invites all Christians to rediscover the beauty and importance of the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. A deep and personal encounter with the Lord enhances our ability to love and serve others.
THE JUBILEE AND THE AFRICAN DREAM OF EMANCIPATION AND RESTORATION
This reflection offers a look at the Jubilee from a Black theological perspective, and questions whether the Jubilee provides an unrealistic ideal or a radical social-spiritual viewpoint which is attainable in the African context by means of the Good News embodied in Christ.
COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE FOR THE SAKE OF THE TRUTH
In the context of this Jubilee Year, Filipino-American journalist and 2021 Nobel Laureate, Maria Ressa, is celebrated as an outstanding example of courage and vocality, denouncing oppression and corruption. Despite suffering serious attacks and various forms of abuse, she has remained committed to truth and justice.
SOWING HOPE THROUGH PAINTING MURALS
Cristian (“Cris”) Daniel Camargo is a 32-year-old Argentinean artist whose vocation it is to bring hope through the murals he paints in and with communities. He has painted 249 murals in America, two in Europe and now he plans to start painting them in Africa as well.
WHAT IS THERE TO HOPE FOR?
The invitation to hope, which the Jubilee calls for, seems daring if we consider a world like ours, immersed in many challenging situations. However, it is precisely that hope, a gift from God, which gives meaning to our life journey and leads us to dream beyond our constrained realities.
TODAY, THIS SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING (LK 4:16-21)
In the power of the Spirit, Jesus begins His ministry and inaugurates the Jubilee Year in which God is experienced as Father in the fraternity among His children. Jesus presents Himself as the fulfilment of the ‘word of grace,’ which offers God’s blessing and fulfils His promise (v. 18-19).
ECCLESIA SUPPLET
It was a Saturday morning, and I was getting ready to visit one of my outstations called Edinburg, to meet the altar servers and practice how to serve Mass with them.
BEACONS OF HOPE BY FR RAUL
We have just launched the Jubilee 2025 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Pretoria, with its theme: “Pilgrims of Hope.” The focus of the Jubilee is that hope and kindness touch the heart of the Gospel.