“Very Enriching Experience”: Associate Secretary General Bids Bishops Farewell in Recorded Address in South Africa

Johannesburg, 05 February, 2026 / 5:34 PM

The Associate Secretary General of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Sr. Dominica Mkhize, has described her service at the Bishops’ three-nation Secretariat in South Africa’s Pretoria Catholic Archdiocese as a “very enriching educational experience,” reflecting on how the role deepened her commitment to prayer and service to the Church.

Sr. Dominica’s remarks were delivered during a farewell event held on January 26 at Khanya House in Pretoria. A recording of the event was published on the SACBC’s YouTube channel on Thursday, February 5, forming the basis of the account of her address.

In her speech, Sr. Dominica thanked the Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa for the opportunity to work closely with them over the past three years, saying the experience allowed her to witness the life of the Church at its highest level of leadership.

“I would like to thank the conference, particularly the Bishops, for the opportunity you have offered me to experience the working of the church, the praying of the church, especially by the top leaders, and to be part of this praying and worshipping community of the leaders of the church,” she said.

Reflecting on her time at Khanya House, the SACBC Secretariat in Pretoria, the member of the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi (FSF) said, “It has been a very enriching educational experience for me. All these past three years, I'm taking along a lot with me, and I feel very much enriched, challenged in some aspects, but I also feel mandated to pray more for my church.”

Sr. Dominica was appointed Associate Secretary General in early 2023 following a period of discernment within her congregation. In that role, she worked closely with the Secretary General, sharing responsibility for the daily administration of the three-nation Conference and supporting the work of its various structures and commissions.

Looking back on her tenure, she said that working closely with the SACBC members had strengthened her sense of mission. 

“I have always been praying for my church, but having been among you, and also listened to you, it pushes me even more to a kind of stronger mission to pray for my church and accompany my church in whatever positive contribution I may get. Thank you very much,” she said.

Born in 1959, Sr. Dominica was raised largely by her grandmother following the early death of her mother. She discerned her vocation at a young age and entered Religious Life in 1978. 

The ministry of the FSF member has included service in education, Diocesan administration, and leadership within her Congregation, including 10 years as Superior General.

During the same farewell event, SACBC President, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Bishops and the Secretariat. 

“I would like to thank you very much indeed for the service that you have given to the Bishops' conference over the past few years,” Cardinal Brislin said.

The Archbishop of Johannesburg Catholic Archdiocese also commended Sr. Dominica for the spirit she brought to the Secretariat. 

“As a Secretariat, through your personality, your calmness, and the fact that you have simply undertaken the tasks that you have been given, but have quietly achieved what you have been asked to achieve, we thank you particularly for those qualities that you have brought to us and to the Bishops' Conference,” he said.

Cardinal Brislin wished Sr. Dominica well in the next phase of her ministry. “I would like to wish you every blessing and every success in whatever you must do in the future. Thank you. May God bless you,” he said.