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On March 7, 1940, with World War II under way, amid secrecy and the London "blackout," five Holy Rosary Sisters embarked for Durban, South Africa on a cargo vessel, the Umona. They sailed out of Liverpool at night, joined a convoy at Dover, and zig-zagged into the open sea amid fears of U-boat attack. Indeed, on its return voyage, the Umona went down in Freetown harbor; all lives were lost. The missionary venture was hardly less precarious. Edenvale consisted of a few villages, a large region of the Basotho tribe, an ammunition factory settlement, and a population of Dutch, English, and Portuguese small farmers. Neither parish nor diocese could finance the work, nor pay the sisters’ passages; a providential gift of 500 pounds "for the missions" made the project possible. After six weeks at sea and a night train to Johannesburg, the sisters were royally welcomed. The church’s poverty was evident, but the Bishop came at once to greet them, to give permission to have the Blessed Sacrament in the house; and to outline plans for another foundation at Vereeniging. The contrast between the vision and the resources to accomplish it marked those first days, and would continue. When Bishop Shanahan, the sisters’ beloved founder, aging and in poor health, arrived from Kenya, his very presence convinced the sisters of the importance of their mission. He encouraged them to remain in South Africa in the face of difficulties, no matter how people misunderstood them. Six more sisters were sent to assist in their work. The difficulties were many; including the separation between the black population and white settlers, which would soon be formalized through the laws of Apartheid. The Holy Rosary Sisters opened a little school for Europeans at Edenvale to provide income while they catechized among the Basotho in the evenings and on weekends. The school that began with three white students, admitted black students in 1977; the integrated school enrolls 600 students today. In 1949, the sisters were asked to staff the "non-European" hospital at Edenvale; when a secular staff took over its management in 1973, the sisters moved to rural clinics.
From 1972 on, this work was extended to three communities in the northern area of the Transvaal, the homelands of the Venda people, the Lebowa, and the Gasunkulu. The small-scale development work grew to include cooperation with agencies such as Operation Hunger, enabling a response to crisis needs, including drought. As government services developed— initially in the black Homelands and later the new South Africa— the sisters focused on new needs and on training those who would replace them. As the world increased its resistance to Apartheid and imposed boycotts, racial strife and protests wracked the nation. In this turmoil, the sisters continued their work; they also provided development schemes, education, and employment projects for adults -- especially women. Finally, in 1991, after years of struggle, the Apartheid laws were repealed; a multiracial, multiparty government was set up in 1993. But strife continued between the ANC and other parties, and churches played an important role in smoothing the progress toward elections. Sr. Cora Richardson, who had worked long in South Africa, was invited to join the Ecumenical Monitoring Program of South Africa, which often stood between armed government soldiers and unarmed crowds, or served in the conflicts between rival parties. Today… The story of the Ivory Park Settlement in the Transvaal -- and the parish that developed there -- demonstrates the constantly changing needs. Ivory Park was a 1990 civic administration project to provide sites for the homeless; 600 families who had been squatting on a prime industrial site were given plots. The settlement lacked electricity; the only water was tanked in daily. The settlers erected "houses," which were shacks made of zinc, cardboard, plastic, old roadside signs.
In a few years, the number of Catholics in the area was estimated at 20,000. Donations came from many parts of the world. Our Lady of the Rosary Church, classrooms, hall, and residence for pastor and caretaker were joyfully dedicated in October 1999, the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Holy Rosary Sisters.
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