FOCUS • NGOME MARIAN SHRINE

Tabernacle of the Most High

The most famous Marian shrine in South Africa, at Ngome, North of Kwa-Zulu Natal, has become a pole of attraction for thousands of pilgrims who experience spiritual graces immersed in an atmosphere of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mother Mary

BY Fr Wayne Weldschidt OMI | Good Shepherd Retreat Centre Director, North West Province

Sr Reinolda and the beginnings of Ngome

Little is known about Benedictine Sr Reinolda May OSB and her involvement in the development of the Ngome Marian Shrine. From the accounts of Fr Michael Mayer OSB, the Rector of the Shrine (before I arrived as Rector in May 2010), we have the following information about the establishment of the Shrine.

Sr Reinolda had taken up her nursing ministry at the Benedictine Hospital in Nongoma, in which
she ministered and taught as a midwife

Between 1955 and 1971 Sr Reinolda was purported to have received 10 apparitions from the Blessed Virgin Mary, who requested “that a Shrine be erected in the place where seven springs come together” on the property of the Church known then as the Ngome Farm, an outstation of the then Mission of Nongoma. It is purported that the Blessed Virgin Mary introduced herself as the ‘Tabernacle of the Most High´ and promised that in this Shrine her “graces would flow in abundance” and that “many people shall turn to God.”

By the time Sr Reinolda ‘received’ her purported communication from the Blessed Virgin Mary, she had already taken up her nursing ministry at the Benedictine Hospital in Nongoma, in which she ministered and taught as a midwife. She was also involved with the catechism of the local Catholic community of the Nongoma Mission.

The Hospital had a chapel in which Holy Mass and Adoration were daily celebrated. Sr Reinolda was particularly committed to the Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and would often take her student nurses to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and invited them to begin the day with Holy Mass. She was in the habit of taking the person to the chapel before the Blessed Sacrament for prayer if there were any serious medical difficulties experienced by those coming to the Hospital for the delivery of their babies. Invariably, some grace was granted, and the danger was averted. Her love for the Holy Eucharist impelled her to spend quiet time before the Lord, entrusting her day and her ministry to His grace and mercy. This she also taught to her students.

Sr Reinolda was also known to have taken her young nursing sisters to the Ngome Marian Shrine to pray for their own personal needs, especially the success of their studies, thus establishing in many of their hearts a personal connection with that holy place and a deeper trust in the love and mercy of the Lord and the care of Our Blessed Mother.

These were some early signs that Ngome Marian Shrine would become, for many, a spiritual home in which many profound needs were offered to the Lord in prayer, through the intercession of the Tabernacle of the Most High, the title now popularly used by pilgrims who visit the Shrine.

Further developments

Through the grace of God and careful discernment by the Church over some time, the place was recognised on the Ngome Farm, since it had many springs. Urged by Father Ignatius Jutz, Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri of Eshowe allowed Brother Jacob Riedmann to build a small chapel on the Ngome farm in the area where the seven springs were situated. Father Ignatius blessed the chapel on Pentecost Sunday in May 1966.

Today Ngome Marian Shrine is one of the most loved and visited holy sites in Southern Africa, of which the Catholic Church has the great privilege and responsibility of being the custodian

Meanwhile, Sr Reinolda felt the need for a picture of Our Lady. With the consent of Bishop Bilgeri and the support of Archabbot Suso Brechter of Saint Ottilien, artist Joseph Aman, from Munich, painted the picture according to the instructions given to him by Sister Reinolda. Once the chapel was erected, the picture of Our Lady, portrayed as the Tabernacle of the Most High, which had originally been put up in the Ngome school, found a permanent place in the little chapel.

On 31 August 1985, a larger chapel, which was built opposite the original chapel, was blessed by Bishop Mansuet Biyase, the Local Ordinary at the time. Joseph Aman’s painting of Our Lady was then transferred to this chapel.

On 3 October 1992, Bishop Biyase blessed an open-air altar at the Shrine and declared the Ngome Marian Shrine a “Place of Prayer”. In December 1996, the Benedictine Sisters of Twasana, took up residence at the Shrine in service to the pilgrims who visited, and in keeping vigil before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

On 04 October 2003, Bishop Jabulani Nxumalo OMI, dedicated the big chapel built at the Shrine, after the increase of pilgrims visiting the Shrine.

In May 2010, Fr Nkululeko Meyiwa OMI and myself arrived to take up ministry at the Shrine. Fr Andrew Knott OMI arrived a year later to join the team of Oblate priests ministering here. Together we re-visioned the Shrine by developing a sustained spiritual programme to assist those coming for prayer at the Shrine. Various Oblate priests spent periods of time ministering at the Shrine during this time.

In 2013, Bishop Thaddeus Kumalo, the Local Ordinary, announced that he wished that the Shrine would become the official Marian Shrine for Southern Africa. This was due to the large number of pilgrims who frequented the Shrine from the countries in the Southern African region, accompanied by priests and religious.

In May 2021, Fr Siybonga Dube OMI, began his ministry as Rector of the Shrine, upon my being moved to another ministry.

Pillars of Devotion at Ngome

The task of the Oblate community ministering at the Shrine is to assist those, who come for prayer, to make a meaningful pilgrimage, under the Motherly care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The focus of the pilgrimage is always to lead people into a deeper Eucharistic relationship or to introduce them to the Eucharistic Lord via daily Holy Mass, Confession, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Accompanied by these essential Catholic elements of faith is a profound devotion to praying the Holy Rosary and the Stations of the Cross. A visit to the springs— in which water is collected and blessed, so that the faithful may use it in their ordinary spiritual activities, —is also a necessary part of any pilgrimage. Many pilgrims also make it their duty to visit the Chapel in which the ‘Tabernacle of the Most High’ painting initially hung and the larger chapel in which it currently remains. Prayer, praise, and worship are the central focuses at Ngome. The silence of the evenings in which heartfelt prayer goes up to God before the Blessed Sacrament within this sanctuary often captures the sentiments of a truly meaningful pilgrimage to Ngome, where heavy burdens are laid down and new trust and hope are implanted into God’s people. Noticeably, many non-Catholics and non-believers find their way to the Shrine in search of something that is missing in their lives, and so often they return home, free from the burdens they carried with them upon their arrival. These are by far the most significant pillars of devotion at the Shrine.

Spiritual experiences and conversions among the pilgrims

In my eleven-year ministry at the Shrine, I can certainly attest to countless numbers of graces received by the pilgrims who came with faith and trust in their hearts, and even for those who came out of curiosity. The Lord, through the intercession of the ‘Tabernacle of the Most High”, is most gracious to His children who seek Him in their need, just as He was at the wedding at Cana (Jn 2: 1-11). So many have felt the reassurance of God who loves them despite their weakness or faults, their distractions or shortcomings. These moments of grace are often the catalyst for many to find their way into a much deeper relationship with the Lord and, especially, with Our Blessed Mother. Sr Reinolda’s efforts and sustained witness were certainly the building blocks of what is now a robust Marian Shrine, from which many graces flow, and through which many souls have turned back to God.

No doubt, as during the time of Jesus, there are doubters and sceptics, who come to the Shrine no longer believing in a loving merciful God who cares for them or battered down by the ferocity of the world. The experience of the gentleness of a forgiving, deeply sensitive God who caresses them back through the words and the image of His servant, the Tabernacle of the Most High, brings them back from the brink of despair. Peace, hope and trust are often the fruits of a meaningful pilgrimage to Ngome Marian Shrine, and certainly a re-commitment to faith in God. Sr Reinolda expressed in the ninth purported apparition that she received this peace and consolation of knowing that Our Blessed Mother will protect and intervene in our lives so that we may receive the necessary grace and blessings we require from God. For me, what stands out most powerfully is the knowledge of Sr Reinolda May as she presented her simple, ordinary but deeply devotional life to the Lord in the Holy Eucharist and her sincere love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the constant and loving witness of this beautiful religious sister has over the years stirred the hearts of so many giving them that push that would move them closer to God, to try to go deeper in their journey of faith. Her love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, carefully guided by the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a story that so many are trying to emulate. The contribution of Sr Reinolda Franziska May OSB will not go unnoticed. She has done what God expected of her, and many reap now the fruits of those early seeds she planted in faith and trust. She has captured the essential elements of the mystical tradition of the Church in which she has journeyed deeply with the Lord who has revealed Himself amidst His people, the same Lord who nourishes us and heals us. Today Ngome Marian Shrine is one of the most loved and visited holy sites in Southern Africa, of which the Catholic Church has the great privilege and responsibility of being the custodian. May we remain true to that call!