Catholic Sister Advocates for Spaces to Address Mental Health Issues among Clergy in Southern Africa

Johannesburg, 01 November, 2025 / 11:30 PM

A Zimbabwean Catholic Sister has called on the Church to establish more mental health centers to support Clergy and members of in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) facing psychological and emotional challenges in their ministry in southern Africa.

In an interview with the South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) communications office on the sidelines of a mental health workshop that was held in South Africa's Catholic Archdiocese of Pretoria, Sr. Vyonne Sanyanga, a certified Counseling Psychologist, said that there is also a need for first aid skills training for the Clergy to enable them to serve the community effectively.

“The church is trying to establish mental health facilities where the Religious can access mental health assistance, but we are advocating for more,” Sr.Sanyanga said in a video which was published on YouTube on Wednesday, October 29.

“We should have many centers where people can feel free to vent, and get training in first aid skills on how to cope with these challenges, because they are found in most of our communities among the people we serve. I think awareness can empower us all, and we can combat this pandemic together,” she added.

The four-day mental health workshop, which commenced on Monday, October 27, was organized by the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA). It brought together Priests from across the region to reflect on their emotional, psychological, and spiritual health, with an emphasis on self-care as a crucial aspect of effective ministry.

Sr. Sanyanga emphasized that mental health struggles are a reality even among those called to Religious life, with Priests and the Religious often facing emotional exhaustion and “unspoken struggles”.

“Mental health is a reality among the Religious. Of course, they have a calling, but we are not prone to mental health issues,” Sr. Sanyanga said.

“Usually, we suffer from silent struggles, the issues that we can't talk about out there. Sometimes, people see us as superheroes, yet we also go through challenges,” the member of the Congregation of the Hand Maids of Our Lady of Mount Carmel also known as the Carmelite Sisters said.

She identified several mental health challenges that Clergy and the Religious communities commonly face, including depression, which she said “often manifests in suicidal cases”, and other “issues that are never spoken about.”

“Sometimes, there is spiritual dryness, where people will be so tired from the missionary work. They work and work and work, and sometimes don't get enough rest,” the Carmelite Nun said.

Sr. Sanyanga expressed concern about those in Religious life who she said get into “silent addictions” as a way of navigating through some of their challenges, such as illnesses, which affect their apostolates.

“It also has to do with emotional challenges stemming from chronic illnesses that we are sometimes diagnosed with,” she said, highlighting complications such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and others that disrupt one's apostolate.

“This can tamper with our mission because we are called to serve. If I'm having this chronic illness, it definitely affects me emotionally. Therefore, psychological issues creep in, and mental health issues start to emerge. Those are some of the issues that we go through,” she added.

The Zimbabwean Nun said her presentation at the IMBISA workshop aims at helping participants reflect on these often-overlooked realities and explore practical ways to respond.

“I'm hoping that we have time to share together with my brother Priests. We have time to reflect on those issues that we seem to find normal, yet they are weighing us down. And maybe pave the way forward to say, what are we going to do next to make sure we live with a stable mental mindset,” she said.

“If one of those dimensions is not in order, the rest of the person is affected. So, I think we should take care of ourselves so that we can continue with the ministry well,” she added.

Sr. Sanyanga encouraged the Clergy and Religious to prioritize self-care and allow themselves to be human, expressing their emotions freely, saying, “My fellow Religious out there, we are not superhuman.We are not heroes. We go through stuff, and that's being human.”

“The grace of God will make us sail through. But there are some challenges that need us to maybe talk to someone, and maybe do something to improve. Because we are human beings, and we are made up of four dimensions, the physical, the psychological, the spiritual, the social,” she added.