Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa: The Church Needs Priests who are “awake” to Needs of the Poor

Johannesburg, 02 December, 2025 / 8:00 PM

The Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa has urged members of the Clergy to prioritize the needs of the poor and to listen attentively to the voices of young people, emphasizing that the Church requires Priests who hold the marginalized at heart.

In his homily during the 25th anniversary of the Priestly ordination of Fr. Christopher Townsend on Sunday, November 30, Archbishop Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński lauded the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Pretoria for prioritizing the needs of the marginalized in line with the Gospel.

“In the Church, we need Priests who are awake. Awake to the needs of the poor. Awake to the voices of the young. Awake to the wounds of society. Awake to the movement of the Holy Spirit,” Archbishop Jagodziński said during the thanksgiving Mass that was held at the Parish Church of the Beatitudes.

Archbishop Jagodziński also lauded Fr. Townsend for his readiness to speak with clarity and to serve those on the margins, explaining that such readiness resonates with the Advent Season and the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew, which urged vigilance among the people of God.

“The Gospel today teaches us to 'stand ready,' not in fear but in love, not in anxiety but in joyful expectation,” he said, and added, “Advent readiness is the readiness of the heart that knows it is loved by God. It is the readiness of someone who listens to the whispers of grace beneath the noise of daily life.”

He said that those who know Fr. Townsend have witnessed the Priest's readiness to speak with clarity, to defend those at the margins, to uphold the truth, and to accompany people with both tenderness and strength.

The Polish diplomat, who also represents the Holy Father in Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, and Eswatini, further commended Fr. Townsend for offering himself as a “living sacrifice,” a gesture he said reflects St. Paul’s exhortation in the Letter to the Romans.

“St Paul’s exhortation, to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, to persevere in prayer, to love genuinely, to rejoice in hope, describes not only the Christian life but the very heart of the priesthood,” he said.

Archbishop Jagodziński said that hope, “in the Christian sense” is the courage to remain soft-hearted “in a world that hardens.”

He said that hope “is the grace to continue loving when the cost is high. It is the decision to trust God’s promise more than one’s own fear.”

In his homily on November 30, the first Sunday of Advent, the Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa said that the Jubilarian’s priesthood has been “a shelter of hope for many.”

He explained, addressing Fr. Townsend, “Many people here could testify that your ministry helped them rediscover hope. In confessions when despair whispered lies, in homilies that challenged complacency, in conversations that honored dignity, and in your steady presence during times of suffering and transition.”

The Nuncio in South Africa said that Fr. Townsend’s Priesthood did not “appear suddenly” but was shaped by many things and people, including his parents, the Seminary formation, and the academic studies he undertook.

In reference to the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the Nuncio in South Africa said, “In this Year of Pilgrims of Hope, we stand with you at this milestone not as spectators but as fellow travelers.”

“We honour the sacrifices you have made, the hopes you have protected, the doubts you have carried, the joys you have shared, and the grace you have embraced. Priesthood is not always dramatic. Often it is hidden, mundane, quiet,” he said.

He explained that Priesthood “is precisely in that hiddenness that the light of Christ shines most brightly”, adding that Fr. Townsend’s “fidelity in the ordinary has allowed God to accomplish the extraordinary.”