Clashes of worldviews in the early history of the Catholic Church in South Africa : the struggles of FR Aloys Majong Mncadi with his white superiors (1877-1933)

Abstract

This article critically examines the life of the second Catholic indigenous priest in South Africa, Fr Aloys Majonga Mncadi. The article briefly gives a background to the training of the black priests in South Africa and outlines key conceptual themes from the Comaroffs. The successful missionary approach of the Trappists is briefly outlined as they had successful missions among the Zulu people in Natal. Finally, the article looks at the conflict which Fr Aloys experienced in the light of the conceptual themes from the Comaroffs. The article is a revised version of a chapter in my doctoral thesis entitled “The establishment of the black Catholic clergy in South Africa from 1887 to 1957” submitted to the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Natal in 2000.