Pope sends message for Denis Hurley Centenary celebrations

(Vatican Radio) South Africans of all faiths are celebrating the life and legacy of one Catholic leader who played a vital role in the vision of the Church in South Africa and in the struggle against apartheid and injustice.

Denis Hurley, the former Archbishop of Durban, was born in Cape Town on 9 November, 1915. The Denis Hurley Centre in Durban is leading centenary celebrations with a rich programme that aims to strengthen and enhance the Centre’s religious, ecumenical, social and cultural role and to revitalize Hurley’s legacy.

Raymond Perrier, Director of the Denis Hurley Centre spoke to Vatican Radio’s  Linda Bordoni about Hurley the man, the priest, the activist – and about his prophetic voice in South Africa today.

He also speaks of the joy of the staff at the Denis Hurley Centre when they received a special message from Pope Francis assuring them of his prayers...

Listen to the interview:

Raymond Perrier reveals that centenary celebrations received an incredible boost from Pope Francis himself who entrusted South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier with a personal message for the Denis Hurley Centre in which Francis assures his prayers for the good work of the Centre and for everyone who works there.

He goes on to explain who Denis Hurley was pointing out that he was the archbishop of Durban for 45 years  because he was made bishop when he was only 31-yeard-old: the youngest bishop in the world… “He was around for a long time and that period covered a very critical period in South Africa”.

Perrier says Hurley stepped down from his role as archbishop just after  Nelson Mandela was released from prison and just before he was elected President, and then lived another 10 years after that.

“So he really saw the transformation in this country from the fascist, racialized system it was, to the democratic, Rainbow nation people have heard so much about!” he says.

Perrier tells of how Hurley was active in the political struggle and of how he became the first religious leader to stand up and say “apartheid is wrong”. And, he says “where Hurley led, others followed” and his energy and charisma were such that he brought many people together in the fight against apartheid.

“There is a famous picture of Hurley in Durban leading a march against apartheid. Shoulder to shoulder with him are the Anglican bishop, the Methodist bishop, the Presbyterian Minister, the leader of the Mosque, the leader of the Hindu community, the leader of the Jewish community…  “    

Perrier also speaks of how Hurley – who was only 50 at the time - participated in the Second Vatican Council (a period he described as the most important of his life); of how he – the son of a lighthouse keeper, grew up on Robben Island (the notorious prison in Table Bay where Nelson Mandela spent much of his time in prison); of how he came to be known as “Guardian of the Light”.
  
Perrier concludes talking about the activities of the Denis Hurley Centre which he leads today and of how it is committed to feeding the poor, tending to the sick, welcoming refugees and developing job skills for people as well as of how he aims to turn the Centre into a cultural hub for the city in which people of all religions and races can come together to celebrate diversity and justice “living life to the full”.