At 65th Anniversary, Christ the King Cathedral of Johannesburg Hailed for Uniting “tradition with modernity”

Johannesburg, 22 September, 2025 / 3:29 PM

The Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa has hailed Christ the King Cathedral of the country’s Johannesburg Catholic Archdiocese for uniting “tradition with modernity” during its 65 years of existence.

In his September 20 homily during the Cathedral's 65th anniversary on Saturday, September 20, Archbishop Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński said that the celebration is an opportunity to look at the past of the Cathedral as a place of prayer with gratitude.

“We admire how beautifully it unites tradition with modernity: stone, glass, wood, and light – all come together in a hymn of glory to God. But more important than architecture: for 65 years this place has lived by the prayer of its people,” Archbishop Jagodziński said.

Over the years, he said the Cathedral has witnessed the celebrations of Sacraments including Baptisms and Matrimony, the shedding of tears in moments of loss, and joyful songs during feasts. “Here the Church has stood with you – in times of suffering and in times of triumph,” he said.

The Polish-born Vatican diplomat, who also represents the Holy Father in Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and Eswatini described Cathedral as the mother church of an Episcopal See, housing the Local Ordinary’s chair or cathedra, which symbolizes his teaching authority, pastoral care, and unity with the successor of St. Peter and the entire people of God.

“It is here that all are called to gather: Priests and Consecrated persons, families, the young and the elderly, the rich and the poor, people of different cultures and languages,” Archbishop Jagodziński said.

The Cathedral, he continued, “is a place of unity, and how much we need this unity in today’s world and in today’s Church. Too often we are divided – by history, by injustice, by misunderstanding.”

In his homily, the Apostolic Nuncio also reflected on the beginnings of the South African Cathedral, saying that the dream of its realization was first brought to the fore by Bishop David O’Leary in 1937. 

In 1958, he said that Bishop William P. Whelan gathered the funds to lay the first stone followed by its consecration and the opening of its doors  not only as “a building, but as a visible sign of the faith, courage, and hope of the Catholics of Johannesburg.”

The September 20 celebration was also a commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in Africa and its evangelizing mission towards the Year 2000, Ecclesia in Africa. Promulgated in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 14 September 1995, this was the first time a major official document of the Catholic Church was signed and officially issued outside of the Vatican and Rome.

In his homily, the Apostolic Nuncio recalled the teaching of St. John Paul II, the first Pope to visit South Africa.

He said that the 265th Catholic Pontiff “showed us how to be faithful to our identity, culture, and tradition, while at the same time opening our hearts to others, to different peoples and cultures – this is what it means to be truly Catholic, universal.”

St. John Paul II, Archbishop Jagodziński went on to recall, “also showed us the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. When he was shot in Saint Peter’s Square, he declared that he owed his survival to the intercession of the Blessed Mother. And he went to the prison to forgive his would-be assassin.”

Reflecting on the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Archbishop Jagodziński described the 30th anniversary of Ecclesia in Africa as fitting directly into St. Paul’s message of thanksgiving.

“What more fitting words could describe our celebration today! Like Saint Paul, we too give thanks – for the grace of God poured out upon this local Church, for the faith handed down across generations, for the witness of Priests, consecrated men and women, and faithful laity who built not only walls of stone but a living temple of Christ’s Body,” he said.

He said that “the Church in Johannesburg, like the Church in Corinth, has been enriched with many charisms: the courage to proclaim the Gospel in difficult times, the resilience to remain steadfast through injustice and trial, the creativity to build bridges across cultures and languages.”

The representative of the Holy Father in South Africa likened the anniversary to the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year. He said, “What a providential coincidence: 65 years of this cathedral and a time when the whole Church is learning anew how to bear witness to hope.”

“In this Eucharist, we thank God for the past, but we also look with confidence to the future. We ask God that this Cathedral may always remain a house of prayer, a place of mercy, and a source of hope,” Archbishop Jagodziński said in his September 20 homily.

He appealed, “Let us entrust ourselves to Christ the King, whose name this Cathedral bears. He is our peace; He is our hope; He is our resurrection and our life. May Mary, Queen of Africa, watch over this holy place.”

“May this cathedral always remain a heart of unity and a beacon of hope for the whole Church in Johannesburg and throughout South Africa,” the representative of the Holy Father in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa said.