Cabra Dominican Sisters in South Africa
Our Congregation currently has sisters in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, with a very small presence in Gauteng. We have a strong sense of service to the poor and underprivileged. This has led us to become involved in the struggle for justice during the difficult years of the apartheid regime, to work with refugees from Mozambique, and to raise awareness around HIV and AIDS.
History
The history of the Cabra Dominicans in South Africa goes back to two bishops and their dream. Bishop Thomas Grimley and Bishop Moran knew the importance of education for their communities in the Cape Colony and invited the Dominican Sisters from Cabra and Sion Hill in Ireland to establish schools in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth ‘to raise the standard of education.’ The first six Irish Dominican Sisters arrived in South Africa in September 1863. A further five Sisters followed in 1867. The Sisters established many independent schools and mission schools alongside one another in the dioceses of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Dominicans were the first religious order to educate deaf children, opening two schools soon after their arrival in the region. Over the years, following various amalgamations, the Sisters established more schools in the 1960s in the Transvaal and reached out to the Afrikaans speaking community in Pretoria and the deaf community in Hammanskraal. During this period, they also became involved in the field of psychological services.
The decades between 1970 and 1980 were marked by learner opposition to the apartheid regime. The Sisters set up night schools to offer education to adults and hedge schools to educate older children in black communities. Many Sisters worked for Justice and Peace Commissions, and some were arrested and imprisoned for taking part in illegal marches against apartheid. In 1976, the Dominican schools defied the apartheid government by opening all their schools to children of all races.
Our Work Today
Education remains a strong aspect of our ministry, although all schools are now lay-managed. We serve as trustees of the Catholic Schools’ Trusts and as board members of the schools. We also serve as members of national and provincial Catholic Schools structures. We are also involved in retreat work, spiritual direction, Scripture groups, ecology, parish work, prayer groups and catechesis.
Community Life
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