Pastor’s Corner for the Solemnity of All Saints, Year B, by Fr. Russell Pollitt SJ
On Monday, 28 October, the Vatican announced that the current archbishop of Cape Town, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, has been appointed as the new archbishop of Johannesburg. This comes after Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI resigned as archbishop. By Canon Law, bishops have to offer their resignation to the Pope when they turn 75. In December Archbishop Buti will be 77 years old.
Archbishop Tlhagale has been our archbishop for the past 21 years. He was installed as archbishop in June 2003. He remains the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg until Cardinal Brislin takes over. In terms of Canon 418 §1, the newly appointed archbishop must “take possession” of his new Archdiocese within two months of the announcement, meaning that Cardinal Brislin will be installed before the end of the year.
It is only fitting that we thank Archbishop Tlhagale for his 21 years of service as the archdiocese’s chief shepherd. Johannesburg is the biggest diocese in the country, and, as many of you know, it is a diverse and complex place. Leading the Church is no easy task. We are grateful to him for his years of work and for overseeing several developments in the Archdiocese and the building of many new churches.
Archbishop Tlhagale took over from Reginald Orsmond, who was the bishop of Johannesburg from 1984 to 2002.
Cardinal Brislin has headed the Archdiocese of Caper Town since his appointment in December 2009. He is no stranger to this part of the world as was previously the bishop of his home diocese of Kroonstad in the Free State. He was appointed bishop of Kroonstad in October 2006 and ordained a bishop on 28 January 2007.
Born on 24 September 1956 in Welkom into a family of Scottish and Irish ancestry, Cardinal Brislin studied psychology at the University of Cape Town and philosophy at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria. He also studied theology at the Missionary Institute of Mill Hill in London and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louvain in Belgium. Cardinal Brislin was ordained to the priesthood for the diocese of Kroonstad on 19 November 1983.
On 30 September 2023, Pope Francis made Archbishop Brislin a Cardinal. I remember texting him the day I heard the announcement, and he responded, “Thanks! I was completely taken by surprise.”
Cardinal Brislin is South Africa’s third Cardinal. Own McCann, who was also archbishop of Cape Town, was made a cardinal in 1965. In 2001, Archbishop Wilfred Napier of Durban was named a cardinal.
Recently, Cardinal Brislin was elected President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. He served two successive terms from 2013 to 2019.
We welcome our new archbishop, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, to the City of Gold!
The Archdiocese will release the details of the Cardinal’s installation as archbishop when the date has been set.