The Military Ordinariate of the South African (National) Defence Force (or of South Africa) is a

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

to provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The commander of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister ...

and their families. It is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

. Since its inception, it has been held by the Metropolitan Archbishops of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

's national capital

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

(where it is headquartered) and has no proper episcopal see of its own. As per 2014, it comprises a single parish and only eight 'diocesan' (secular) priests. The current incumbent is the Metropolita Dabula Anthony Mpako, since 30 April 2019.

History

It was established as Military vicariate of the South African Defence Force on 17 May 1951. It originally provided chaplains to the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

. It was promoted as Military Ordinariate of the South African Defence Force on 21 July 1986. Following the dismantling of the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

system it now provides chaplains to the

Episcopal ordinaries

(all Roman Rite)

Military Vicars

* John Colburn Garner (appointed 17 May 1951 – resigned 26 March 1976), while first Metropolitan Archbishop of

(South Africa) (1951.01.11 – 1975.04.28); previously

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of Tracula (1948.04.09 – 1951.01.11) and last

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(South Africa) (1948.04.09 – 1951.01.11) * George Francis Daniel (appointed last Military Vicar 26 March 1976 – 21 July 1986 ''see below''), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Pretoria (1975.04.28 – 2008.11.24)

Military Ordinaries

* George Francis Daniel (''see above'' appointed first Military Ordinary 21 July 1986 – retired 24 November 2008) * Paul Mandla Khumalo, Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill (C.M.M.) (appointed 24 November 2008 – resigned 15 December 2009), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Pretoria (2008.11.24 – 2009.12.15); previously Bishop of

Witbank Witbank (), officially Emalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named after a white sandstone outcrop where wa ...

(South Africa) (2001.10.02 – 2008.11.24) * William Slattery,

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

(O.F.M.) (appointed 23 December 2010 – retired 30 April 2019), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Pretoria (South Africa) (2010.12.23 – 2019.04.30); previously Bishop of

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as i ...

(South Africa) (1993.11.17 – 2010.12.23) * Dabula Anthony Mpako (appointed 30 April 2019 - ...), simultaneously appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Pretoria; previously Bishop of Queenstown (23 May 2011 - 30 April 2019)

References

Sources and external links