Inkamana Abbey, also called Sacred Heart Abbey, Inkamana, is a
Benedictine abbey in
Vryheid,
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
,
South Africa, in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Eshowe
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Eshowe ( la, Eshoven(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Eshowe in the Ecclesiastical province of Durban in South Africa.
History
* August 27, 1921: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Zululand from the Ap ...
. It belongs to the
Ottilien Congregation.
History
The abbey was established as a mission on 3 August 1922, after the Ottilien Congregation received permission to do missionary work in 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 mission was headed by
apostolic vicar Thomas Spreiter, who had been working in
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
since 1900.
With the help of the Benedictine Sisters of
Tutzing, a
high school was built, where Spreiter taught
religion. A newly built monastery building was finished in 1949, and a church was consecrated in 1953.
On 21 June 1968, the abbey was promoted to the rank of
conventual priory
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites.
Dating back to ...
,
and on 25 February it became an
abbey. Since 29 June 1998, the abbey's monks also oversee the former mission house of the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the St. Boniface House Waldfrieden, 50 km north-west of
Windhoek,
where they work with the
Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing. A training school for Inkamana's young monks was founded in 1992 in
Howick Howick may refer to:
Places
*Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa
**Howick Falls
* Howick, Lancashire, a small hamlet (Howick Cross) and former civil parish in England
*Howick, New Zealand
**Howick Historical Village
**Howick (New Zealand electo ...
, and moved in 1998 to nearby Cedara. Its current abbot is Godfrey Sieber, also the author of a history of the mission.
The abbey's priest is also the custodian of the
Ngome Marian Shrine, where between 1955 and 1971 the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
appeared ten times to Sister Reinolda May of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters. Sister Reinolda, who died on 1 April 1981, is buried at Inkamana Abbey.
During a 1997 fire in the hospice, three bed-ridden patients died, as did Sr. Ann Thole, who tried to rescue them.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Abbey website
Benedictine monasteries in South Africa
African Monasteries of the Congregation of Missionary Benedictines of Saint Ottilien
Roman Catholic monasteries in South Africa
Roman Catholic churches in South Africa
Zululand District Municipality