Diocese of Eshowe - Bishop Mansuet Dela Biyase

Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC)
Media Release
Immediate, Pretoria, Wednesday, 6 July 2005
Bishop Mansuet Dela Biyase’s funeral on the 16th of July
Bishop Mansuet Dela Biyase, who died on July 1, will be buried on the 16th of July at Eshowe with the Requiem Mass starting at 10h00 at Little Flower Mission Eshowe. A vigil Mass will be celebrated on Friday 15 July, at 19h00, in the Cathedral of Eshowe.
Bishop Biyase was born on the 5th of October 1933 in the Ixopo district of Natal. After his primary school education at Maryhelp Primary School at Ncalu, he matriculated at the St Mary's Seminary Ixopo in 1954. At the end of his theology studies-from 1955 to 1960-he was ordained priest on the 10th of July 1960. At the same time he developed his second call and studied Music by correspondence and acquired his certificate. His first assignment as Music teacher was at St Mary’s Seminary lxopo. From 1962 to 1971 he was Assistant parish priest at Kevelaer, Umbumbulu, and Mariannhill.
In 1968 he became parish priest at Umtwalume and in 1971, at Umlazi, Uganda Parish. After having been Vicar General of the Diocese of Mariannhill, he was called to the Diocese of Eshowe in Northern Zululand. His former bishop. Elmar Schmid ordained him bishop on the 28th of June 1975, becoming the second Bishop of the Diocese of Eshowe. From the forty priests of the Diocese only 4 were sons of the soil. During his 30 years as Bishop he ordained for his Diocese 28 local Priests and 5 Benedictine priests.
But his strength and talents were not confined to his Diocese. He worked tirelessly for the whole church traveling to many countries during the apartheid regime informing the people about the struggle for freedom in our country and explaining to them in what way they could help us.
He was chairman of the Zulu Liturgical Translation Commission, was active with the Catholic Nurses Guild, founded a Credit Union in his Diocese and established Parish Councils in all the Parishes of the Diocese. As a sign of recognition of all his engagements for the church and the country the University of Zululand conferred to him the degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) on the 27th of May 2000.
All his activities weakened his health and two years ago he underwent a surgical operation and had a triple bypass as well as a pacemaker. But he never fully recovered his strength.
On the 26th of June he was brought to Entabeni Hospital, Durban, after suffering a severe stroke during the night. He did not gain consciousness any more and died on the 1st of July, the Sacred Heart Friday.
V. Rev. J.V.A. Ndaba
ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
DIOCESE OF ESHOWE

________________________________________
Fr Efrem Tresoldi
Information Officer
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference
PO Box 941
PRETORIA
0001 SOUTH AFRICA
Tel: +27 12 323 6458
Cell: +27 823259820
Fax: +27 12 326 6218
E-mail: etresold@sacbc.org.za
Website: www.sacbc.org.za

On June 26, Bishop Mansuet Biyase of the Diocese of Eshowe suffered a massive stroke while visiting relatives in Durban. He was admitted to Entabeni Hospital but remained unconscious until he died on July 1. He was 71 years old. Cardinal Wilfred Napier of Durban will celebrate the Requiem Mass for the deceased on Saturday, July 16, on the sports ground of the Little Flower School, Eshowe. This will be followed by the funeral inside the cathedral of Eshowe.
Bishop Mansuet Biyase was the third bishop of Eshowe after Bishop Thomas Spreiter (1921-1943) and Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri (1947-1973) both of whom were members of the Benedictine community of Inkamana and are buried in our abbey cemetery. Born on October 5, 1933, near Ixopo in southern Natal, Bishop Mansuet finished his secondary education at the end of 1954 with a matric certificate from St Marys Minor Seminary, Ixopo. After completing his studies in philosophy and theology he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Mariannhill on July 10, 1960. He served as assistant priest in several parishes until he was appointed parish priest of Umtwalume in 1968. In 1971 Bishop Elmar Schmid put him in charge of a large parish in the township of Umlazi and made him vicar general of the diocese. He became well known for his pastoral zeal and his musical talent. When the search was on for a suitable candidate for the diocesan see of Eshowe which had become vacant in July 1973, Rome chose Fr Biyase on 28 February 1975 to become the new bishop. His episcopal consecration took place on 28 June 1975. The Apostolic Delegate, the Cardinal of Cape Town, ten bishops, some sixty priests and about 8 000 people witnessed this event which took place on the Eshowe Show Grounds.
When Bishop Biyase took over the reins, the Diocese of Eshowe had 32 Benedictine and 4 Franciscan priests from Europe. There were only four local diocesan priests. Of at total of 212 religious sisters 122 were from Germany and 90 from Zululand. The church had still all the elements of a missionary church, being almost totally dependent on personnel and financial help from overseas. It was therefore one of Bishop Biyases major concerns to recruit local vocations and to make the church more self-supporting. During the 30 years as bishop of Eshowe he ordained 30 local diocesan priests. Today the diocese has 27 diocesan priests and 22 Benedictine priests. Although the number of Sisters had decreased since 1975 from 212 to 139, the majority of them, 88 are now from South Africa and only 51 hail from Europe. The number of Catholics increased from 45 000 in 1975 to 81 500 in 2005.
As a member of the Southern African Bishops Conference Bishop Biyase served on various commissions. His experience and knowledge was especially appreciated in the Zulu Liturgical Translation Commission of which he was the chairman for many years. Later he served on or chaired several other commissions, among them the commission for social welfare. He represented the bishops of Southern Africa at the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1977 and later attended various IMBISA (Interregional Meetings of Bishops of Southern Africa) as the delegate of South Africa. In 1976 he became chancellor of St Peters Major Seminary. It was at a very turbulent time when student unrest caused the temporary closure of the seminary. In his capacity as chancellor he tried to conduct a survey among African clergy to find out what would be the best way to recruit and train local vocations. At the same time he opened a minor seminary at Mahlabatini, one of the major parishes in his diocese. In an effort to promote the social message of the gospel in his diocese, he compiled a pastoral letter in 1977 which explained the social teaching of the Catholic Church and was mainly meant for English speaking Catholics. More pastoral letters followed in preparation for the Inter-diocesan Pastoral Consultation which was held in Pretoria in 1980.
The preparation for the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage to Fatima was a major pastoral concern for Bishop Biyase. He made it a highlight in the liturgical calendar and saw it as a means for the spiritual renewal of the diocese. When the Marian Shrine at Ngome became more and more a focal point for pilgrims from within and without the diocese, he made arrangements for a thorough investigation of all the events that led to the establishment of the Ngome Shrine. When theological experts found that there was no reasons why Ngome should not become a place of pilgrimage, he did not only allow organized pilgrimages but gave even permission for a proper church to be built there.
It was understandable that, at the beginning, Bishop Biyase felt a little bit overwhelmed by the strong presence of expatriate Benedictine Missionaries priests, brothers and sisters in his diocese. But he was deeply aware of the important service they were rendering so that the Catholic Church could take root in Zululand. For over 50 years they provided it with the necessary personnel and financial resources. In view of the powerful Benedictine presence it was quite natural that Bishop Biyase was looking forward to the time when his diocese could rely more on local resources.
Success in this respect helped to ease tensions that might have existed in some quarters. His visits to the abbey were always highlights for our community, and for the Bishop himself they seemed to become more and more a time where he could relax and enjoy the atmosphere in the cloister. Over the last few years, Bishop Biyase has had serious health problems and has been repeatedly hospitalized. In April this year he traveled to Germany to follow an invitation by the Nardini Sisters who celebrated the 150th anniversary of their foundation. When he arrived back he was visibly tired and exhausted. Poor health prevented him from joining the other bishops of South Africa who went to Rome in June for the ad limina visit. Although he was not well, his death came unexpected. With it came the end of a period where the Diocese of Eshowe made some remarkable progress from a mission church to a local church.
On July 4, the diocesan consultors met at the diocesan office in Eshowe to elect to elect an administrator to take charge of the Diocese of Eshowe until Rome appoints a successor to the late bishop. Fr Jabulani Ndaba, the parish priest of St Patricks Parish, Empangeni, was duly elected and is now administering the diocese. Fr Jabulani was born in 1960 and was ordained a priest in 1989.

Our bishop was

Rt Rev Bishop Dr. Mansuet Dela Biyase

Consecrated at Eshowe on 28 June 1975

Residence:

Our bishop's coat of arms and motto "Serviam ut crescat grex Dei" (May I serve that God's flock may grow!)

Biography:

5 October 1933	born in Ixopo of Michael (labourer) and Emmarentia Nomagqweta (domestic servant)
1941 - 1946	Maryhelp Mission Primary School, Ncalu
1947 - 1954	St Mary's Seminary, Ixopo, Junior Certificate and Matriculation
1955 - 1960	St Peter's Major Seminar, Pevensey / Natal
10 July 1960	Ordained priest for Mariannhill Diocese
1961 - 1963	Royal School of Music, London, UK (correspondence course), Music Theory Grade VII Certificate
1961	Music teacher, St Mary's Seminary, Ixopo
1962 - 1966	Assistant Priest, Kevalaer Mission, Donnybrook
1966 - 1967	Assistant Priest, Umbumbulu Catholic Church, Umbumbulu
1966 - 1967	Member of Umbumbulu Community Centre
1967 - 1968	Assistant Priest, Mariannhill Mission, Mariannhill
1968 - 1971	Priest in charge, St Joachim's Mission, Umtwalume
since 1969	Chaplain to the Catholic Teachers Federation
1970 - 1971	Founder and President of Umzinto South Farmers Association
1971 - 1975	Priets in charge, Uganda Parish, Umlazi
1971 - 1975	Secretary of Idamasa (Interdenominational African Ministers Association of SA)
1972 - 1975	Member of YMCA (African), Durban, Christian promotions
1973 - 1975	Vice-Charman of Umlazi Ward 2 Advisory Committee
1974 - 1975	Vicar General of Mariannhill Diocese
28 February 1975	Appointed Bishop of Eshowe Diocese
28 June 1975	Ordained bishop of Eshowe Diocese
since 1975	Member of the S.A.C.B.C.
1976 - 1978	Chancellor of St. Peter's Seminary, Hammanskraal
1988 - 1992	Chairman of the S.A.C.B.C. Department of Ecumenism
3 September 1996	Awarded the "Grand Cross pro piis meritis" of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
2000	Awarded Honorary Doctorate by the University of Zululand
Currently	member of the S.A.C.B.C.'s Seminary Commission