Benedict Daswa (born Tshimangadzo Samuel Daswa; 16 June 1946 – 2 February 1990), was a
South African school teacher and principal. He was given the name of "Samuel" by his parents when he started to attend school and assumed the name "Benedict" upon his conversion to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. A local mob murdered him after he refused to pay support for anti–Christian superstition.
His martyrdom was confirmed by the Catholic Church in 2015, paving the way for his
beatification
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
. He was beatified in Limpopo on 13 September 2015. Cardinal
Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...
– on behalf of
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
– presided over the beatification Mass.
Biography
Benedict Daswa was born as Tshimangadzo Samuel Daswa on 16 June 1946 in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and was a member of the
Lemba people
The Lemba, Remba, or Mwenye are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group which is native to Zimbabwe and South Africa, with smaller branches in Mozambique and Malawi. According to Tudor Parfitt, when he first worked in the field among the Lemba in South ...
. He was the first child born to Tshililo Petrus Daswa (Bakali) and Thidziambi Ida Daswa (Gundula).
This tribe followed
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
rituals and laws. Daswa had three younger brothers and one sister: Thanyani Mackson, Muvhulawa Calson, Thinavhuyo Mavis and Humbulani Innocent. Daswa worked as a herd boy before he attended school which started at Vondwe Primary School in 1957 which was followed by secondary school at Mphaphuli High School. After his father's accidental death, it fell to him to provide for his siblings and did this by paying for their education while in the workforce. In the workforce, he helped pay for his siblings' education and constantly encouraged them to take pride in their studies.
Daswa was exposed to
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
through a friend he met while in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
while living with an uncle there. He learnt about the Catholic faith and learnt catechism every Sunday from Benedict Risimati. After two years of instruction, Daswa was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
on 21 April 1963 by the priest Augustine O'Brien.
He took the name of "Benedict" due to the fact that he was inspired by
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...
, also selecting as his life motto "Ora et labora" (pray and work).
He was confirmed by Abbot Bishop F. Clemens van Hoek three months later on 21 July 1963.
He became an active member of the
Catholic Church in South Africa
The Catholic Church in South Africa is part of the worldwide Catholic Church composed of the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, of which the South African church is under the spiritual leadership of the Southern African Catholic Bish ...
. Daswa went to Venda Teacher Training College to do a primary teacher's certificate and later obtained his
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
through correspondence in 1973. He served as a teacher and catechist as he worked with adolescents and he assisted families that endured economic hardship. Daswa was a highly respected individual in his local community and became known for his honesty, truthfulness and integrity, even known to fetch students who decided to skip schools. Daswa later helped to build the first church in his area and later became the principal of the school that he taught at on 1 January 1979 at Nweli Primary School.
He once convinced a father who wanted to marry off his daughter to an older man to allow the girl to complete her education.
Daswa married Shadi Eveline Monyai (d. 2008) in 1974 and the pair had a total of eight children, including Lufuno (b. 1977) who was the eldest, Benedicta (b. 1990), Helen and Faith. He would help his wife with household chores, unheard of at that time in his area, and he valued his family to the point of hosting Daswa Family Days each 16 December where gifts would be exchanged and a meal held.
For his family, he personally built his brick house. Daswa also established a
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team called the Mbahe Eleven Computers and left this team when members wanted to use "
muti
Muthi is a traditional medicine practice in Southern Africa as far north as Lake Tanganyika.
Name
In South African English, the word ''muti'' is derived from the Zulu/Xhosa/ Northern Ndebele ''umuthi'', meaning 'tree', whose root is ''-thi''. ...
" (medicine) in order to win games. He started a new team, Mbahe Freedom Rebels. He was an active member of his community, serving as the secretary of the local traditional council; the local chief valued his counsel.
In November 1989, heavy rains and lightning strikes plagued the area. When his village suffered strong storms again in January 1990, the elders decided that the lightning occurred due to
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
and thus demanded a tax from all their residents to pay for a sangoma to "sniff out" the witch who caused the storms, who they would then burn. Daswa said they were just a natural phenomenon and declined to pay the tax; he stated that his Catholic faith prevented him "from taking part in anything connected with witchcraft."
On 2 February 1990, Daswa drove his sister-in-law and her sick child to a doctor in
Thohoyandou
Thohoyandou ( ve, Ṱhohoyanḓou) is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Vhembe District Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality. It is also known for being the former capital of the bantusta ...
and en route, picked up a man who asked for his help to take a bag of
mealie meal to his home in a town next to Mbahe. At around 7:30pm, he returned to Mbahe where he left his sister-in-law and child near their home. He told his daughter that he would soon return after taking the passenger to the next village.
Returning home, found his path blocked by fallen trees and as he attempted to clear the road he was ambushed by a mob of young men. Bleeding as a result of
stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a method of capital punishment where a group throws stones at a person until the subject dies from blunt trauma. It has been attested as a form of punishment for grave misdeeds since ancient times.
The Torah and Ta ...
, he left his damaged car and ran for assistance at a woman's hut. However, the woman revealed where he was when the mob threatened to kill her if she did not comply. As a result of this, he was beaten and clubbed over the head. Boiling water was poured over him in his ears and nostrils after he was attacked to ensure that he was dead. His final words were, "God, into Your hands receive my spirit". The woman of the hut informed Daswa's brother what had happened and the latter remained with his dead brother for the night.
Post-mortem
The funeral took place on Saturday, 10 February 1990. The funeral procession commenced at Daswa's home and then proceeded to Nweli Church. Celebrants wore red vestments to indicate their belief that Daswa died at the hands of his attackers in hatred of his faith.
Daswa's mother later converted to Roman Catholicism and saved her pension to purchase a tombstone for her murdered son. This was unveiled after a special Mass on 26 November 2000. Daswa's remains were later transferred to Nweli Church on 24 August 2015.
Beatification
The cause of beatification commenced on 10 June 2008 on a diocesan level in
Tzaneen
Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...
which concluded in 2009 with the commencement of the "Roman Phase".
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
approved a decree that recognized his
martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
on 22 January 2015. The beatification was celebrated by Cardinal
Angelo Amato
Angelo Amato, S.D.B. (born 8 June 1938) is an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...
in Limpopo on 13 September 2015; the beatification date was confirmed in March 2015. Present at the celebration was Daswa's mother and children as well as Augustine O'Brien who baptized him. Approximately 30,000 people attended the beatification.
Veneration
On the 1st of February 2020 thousands of the people gathered at the Benedict Daswa Shrine Site in Tshitanini to witness the 30th anniversary celebration of the martyrdom of Blessed Benedict Daswa. Cardinal Wilfrid Napier was the main celebrant, assisted by Bishop Joao Rodrigues and Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery of
Tzaneen
Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...
Diocese. Napier based his homily on the gospel of the day: "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains itself alone, but it if dies it produces many more seeds like itself".
Relics
Daswa's remains were exhumed from his grave on 24 August 2015 in the presence of the police, a nurse and a doctor. The exhumation took more than four hours due to the secure burial with several layers of thick cement between layers of soil; the steel coffin was reported to be in good condition. At the behest of the family, his remains were taken to the grave of his wife and the coffin opened to reveal Daswa's skeletal remains intact. The family desired the remains to be left undisturbed in the original coffin for reinterment, which was cleaned and covered in white material and colored traditional Venda cloth. A document to testify to the exhumation was placed in the coffin. His remains were relocated to a grave in a church in Mbahe and a toe and a piece of the garment he was wearing was removed and was sent away to be used as relics.
Medal
Daswa's Medal was created in South Africa in 2015 b
Immaculate Heart Catholic Supply which has his face on the front and the Knob-Kierrie and stones at the back with "Pray for us" these items symbolize his Martydom. The devotional medal was the very first created in South Africa by a South African Catholic company. The Medal can be found and bought by the Cause of Canonization, Radio Veritas, Immaculate Heart Catholic Supply or your nearest Catholic Church who has them available.
References
External links
Saints SQPNBenedict DaswaBlessed Benedict DaswaBenedict DaswaImmaculate Heart Gifts & Media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daswa, Benedict
1946 births
1990 deaths
People from Thulamela Local Municipality
South African Venda people
South African Roman Catholics
20th-century venerated Christians
20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
Beatifications by Pope Francis
South African schoolteachers
South African murder victims
People murdered in South Africa
Burials in South Africa
Deaths by beating