The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mariannhill ( la, Collis Mariae/Mariannhillen(sis)) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

located in the city of

Mariannhill Mariannhill is a cluster of suburbs and townships in eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. In 1882, Trappist missionary Father Franz Pfanner established Mariannhill Monastery 16 km west of Durban. He promoted local developm ...

in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

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 ...

History

In 1880, at the request of Bishop James David Ricards of the Eastern Vicariate of the Capeof Good Hope,

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

Franz Pfanner Franz Pfanner (1825 – 24 May 1909), also anglicised as Francis Pfanner, was an Austrian Trappist abbot and founder of Mariannhill Monastery in South Africa and the Mariastern Abbey in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Life Born to Francis ...

abbot of Mariastern Abbey in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, established a monastery near

Sundays River Valley The Sundays River Valley is a low-lying area along the Sundays River. It forms part of the Sunday's River Valley Local Municipality in Cacadu District Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The valley stretches from the Kirkwood prison gr ...

, South Africa. Due to drought and wind the site proved unsuitable and with the permission of Bishop Charles Jolivet,

O.M.I. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

, of the Natal Vicariate, Pfanner and his companions relocated to a part of the Zoekoegat farm, near

Pinetown Pinetown is a large area that is part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Pinetown is situated 16 km west of Durban at an elevation of 1,000 to 1,300 feet (305 to 395 m). History Pin ...

.Welch, Sidney. "Franz Pfanner." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. He named it Mariannhill after St. Mary and St. Anne. As their missionary activity was not entirely compatible with the contemplative focus of the Trappists, in 1909 upon the recommendation of Edmond Obrecht, abbot of the

Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Catholic monastery in the United States near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County. The abbey is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae''), ...

, the Holy See separated the monks of Mariannhill from the Trappists, forming the

Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill , image = Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill logo.png , abbreviation = CMM , formation = , founder = Franz Pfanner , founding_location = Mariannhill, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa , t ...

(CMM). In 1904 Henri Delalle C.M.M. was appointed appointed Apostolic vicar for Natal. On September 10, 1921 the Apostolic Vicariate of Mariannhill was established from the

Apostolic Vicariate of Natal The Vicariate Apostolic of Natal ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Natalensis) was a Roman Catholic missionary, quasi-diocesan jurisdiction in South Africa. Antecedents The history of the Catholic Church in South Africa goes back to 1660, when a Frenc ...

. The first apostolic vicars were members of the CMM. The Diocese of Mariannhill was erected on January 11, 1951 as suffragan to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Durban. The Diocese measures 12,612 square kilometers. As of 2017, the diocese had a population of about 329,575 Catholics. St. Joseph’s Cathedral was built in 1908, and is the seat of the Bishop of Mariannhill. Bishop Adalbert Fleischer founded the Franciscans Familiars of St. Joseph’s (FFJ). Paul Themba Mngoma was appointed bishop on March 14, 1981; he was the first African Bishop of the Mariannhill Diocese. Mngoma worked to increae the number of indigenous clergy.Mukuka, George Sombe. "Mngoma, Themba Paul", ''Dictionary of African Christian Biography'', 2009
/ref> In response to a request from Bishop Pius Dlungwane for an Apostolic Visitation, Pope Francis appointed the Archbishop Emeritus of Pretoria in South Africa,

William Slattery William Slattery, O.F.M., is an Irish-born Franciscan who served as Bishop of Kokstad from 1993 to 2010, before being appointed Archbishop of Pretoria and Bishop of South Africa, Military. William Mathew Slattery was born in County Tipperary ...

O.F.M. to visit Mariannhill and meetings and consult with the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese. As a result of the visitation, in September 2020, Slattery was named apostolic administrator of the diocese, while Biahop Dlungwane remained its spiritual head. In December 2021, Mons. Neil Augustine Frank, Provincial Superior of OMI in South Africa, was appointed Coadjutor Bishop. Frank noted that Marianhill is almost completely a Zulu speaking Diocese, "...and this is great for the inculturation of the faith."Atemanke, Jude. "“It's a big responsibility”, South African Bishop-elect Says, Promises Collaboration", ACI Africa, 17 December, 2021
/ref> Bishop Mlungisi retired in October 2022.

Bishops

;Vicars Apostolic of Mariannhill (Roman rite) * Joseph Adalbert Fleischer, C.M.M. (1922.03.22 – 1950) * Alphonse Streit, C.M.M. (1950.12.23 – 1951.01.11) ; Bishops of Mariannhill (Roman rite) * Alphonse Streit, C.M.M. (1951.01.11 – 1970) * Martin Elmar Schmid, C.M.M. (1970.05.21 – 1980.06.18) * Paul Themba Mngoma (1981.03.14 – 2005.02.07) * Pius Mlungisi Dlungwana (3 June 2006 – 13 October 2022) * Neil Augustine Frank (13 October 2022 – present)

Auxiliary Bishops

** Bishop

Pius Bonaventura Dlamini Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

, F.F.J. (1967.12.14 – 1981.09.13) ** Bishop Pius Mlungisi Dlungwana (2000.06.02 - 2006.06.03), appointed Bishop here

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Mansuet Dela Biyase, appointed Bishop of Eshowe in 1975

References

Sources

GCatholic.org

External links

Diocesan website

Christian organizations established in 1921 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1921 establishments in South Africa EThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Durban {{SouthAfrica-org-stub