Photographs showing the visit of Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd (1901-1966), Minister of Bantu Affairs in the South African government (he was later Prime Minister), to the Holy Family Mission at Katima Mulilo in the Caprivi Strip (situated in present-day Namibia but then under South African control). A typescript note is extant in the file. It reads: ‘The purpose of his visit to the Mission was to assess the possible implications of implanting the infamous Bantu Education Act into the Caprivi where, at the time, all the schools were administered by the Capuchins with the aid of a very meagre subsidy from the S.A. government. Dr. Verwoerd (the “architect of apartheid”, was assassinated during his reign as Prime Minister) enforced the Bantu Education Act, in the late 1950s, as a means of preventing black South Africans from receiving an education anywhere near the standard enjoyed by other ethnic groups, e.g. whites and coloureds’. One of the photographs shows Verwoerd (identified with an 'X') with various religious including Bishop Timothy Phelim O’Shea OFM Cap. and Fr. Bartholomew Prendiville OFM Cap., superior of the Katima Mulilo Mission. See also CA AMI/2/10/3/110.
Views of Parow parish, Flats District, Cape Town, South Africa. The prints are annotated on the reverse: ‘This is Parow in the Cape Flats. We could build a church and convent in the foreground. … The orphanage is in the distance’. ‘Parow / the ground in front is Vicariate-owned. Building on left is church. The other buildings are the orphanage’. ‘Three of the coloured orphans at the little Oratory, Parow’. ‘Fr. Kelly’s Church in the heart of the Flats. Typical flat country with occasional roads thro it. But he has very few residents in such a place. He is very old now and I expect we shall be asked to take it later. He has his own house and four mission churches attached – all built by his own parishioners’ hands’.
Photographic prints showing the visit of Nelson Mandela to the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, on 12 September 1993. Mandela was accompanied by Allan Boesak. Some of the photographs are annotated on the reverse by the donors: James P. Rigney and Fr. Macartan Hyland OFM Cap. The photographs were printed in 'The Cape Argus' newspaper. The file also includes: • A description of the circumstances surrounding Mandela’s visit to Athlone Parish Church by Fr. Wilfrid Aherne OFM Cap. (1923-2004). • An annotated copy of the sermon preached on the occasion by Fr. Wilfrid Aherne OFM Cap. A copy of Mandela’s brief address after communion referring to the support offered by the local congregation during the apartheid era • The welcome address given by Huxley Joshua, a prominent member of the ANC in the locality. • Documents (including a copy newspaper cutting from 'The Southern Cross', 26 Sept. 1993) referring to the controversy over Mandela’s taking of communion during the Mass.
Notebook containing a record of the baptisms at the Loanja mission, Bartoseland, Northern Rhodesia. The record (which includes entries of adult baptisms and references to 'articulo mortis' or 'at the moment of death') was compiled by Fr. Seraphin Nesdale OFM Cap. (1897-1980). The entries are listed under local (birth) name, tribe, village, Christian name, date of baptism, minister officiating, date, and in some instances date of death and place of burial. The end pages of the volume also contain miscellaneous notes re baptisms at the mission. With manuscript annotations (in Irish) by Fr. Padraig Ó Cuill OFM Cap. re Fr. Seraphin.
A collection of colour photographic prints of Victoria Falls and the surrounding area (including Livingstone Island and Forest Gorge) compiled by Br. Andrew O’Shea OFM Cap. The file includes some postcard prints. Some of the prints also show Fr. Hugh Murphy OFM Cap., Br. Daniel O’Brien OFM Cap. and Fr. Declan O’Callaghan OFM Cap. The file includes a typescript copy of an ‘Extract from Dr. David Livingstone’s Missionary Travels on the Zambezi’. The album was compiled by Br. Andrew O’Shea in 1982. The prints are captioned and are held in plastic sleeves. The prints have been removed from the ring folder.
Photographic prints of various scenes on the island of St. Helena taken by Fr. Jarlath Gough OFM Cap. whilst he was parish priest from 1957-64. The photographs have extensive annotations on the reverse: The Anglican Church in Jamestown. Interior and exterior of the Catholic Chapel in Jamestown. Sacred Heart Church, Jamestown, St. Helena. The interior landscape of St. Helena. View of St. Helena General Hospital.
Photographic prints of scenes at an out-station near the Sioma Mission in Zambia. The images show groups of children and parents receiving food and medical care.
A history of the Irish Capuchin mission in Northern Rhodesia (later Zambia) compiled by Fr. Luke Browne OFM Cap. (1920-2008). The history traces the history of the mission in a chronological format from 1930 to 1981. Particular attention is given to the arrival of missionary friars, the work of clerical and lay mission personnel, relations with local communities, the construction of mission stations, schools and hospitals in Barotseland (later the Western Province of the Republic of Zambia) and to various mission appointments and transfers. Fr. Luke arrived in Northern Rhodesia in 1948 and the text includes many of his personal recollections of the mission. The file also includes a copybook containing text in Irish by Fr. Luke recounting his initial experiences as a missionary from 1948-50.
Reports on school inspections in the Northern Rhodesian mission compiled by Fr. Luke Browne OFM Cap. The reports are chronological and give information on the physical condition of the schools, the numbers of pupils and teachers, attendance, and the catechism and subjects taught in the schools. Reference is made to schools in Lusense, Schuckmannsburg (now Luhonono in the Caprivi Strip), Sichili, Kasika and Twambo.
Publication by Fr. Fintan Roche OFM Cap. on the Irish Capuchin mission in Barotseland, Northern Rhodesia. The booklet was published by M.H. Gill & Son, Dublin.
