The Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) opened its Golden Jubilee Plenary Session with a solemn Mass celebrated in Manzini Diocese, Eswatini, bringing together over 120 delegates from the six episcopal conferences that form IMBISA.

In his homily, the president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) highlighted the regional body’s history, the present global context, and the mission ahead.

A Jubilee of Memory and Hope

Reflecting on the 50-year journey of IMBISA, Cardinal Stephen Brislin spoke of “fifty years of discernment, ministry, and especially accompaniment of the Church in this part of the Continent. Fifty years of the unfailing presence and working of the Holy Spirit.” He recalled the joys and sorrows of the region, including “the excruciating times of violence and the blessed moments of peace, the ravishing hungers and the satisfying securities.”

Quoting St Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he reminded delegates that “hope will never disappoint us,” adding with Martin Luther King Jr.’s words: “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope,” said Cardinal Brislin on Wednesday, September 24.

Naming the Disappointments of Our Time

The Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Johannesburg did not shy away from confronting the stark realities facing Africa and the world. “We live in a complex world of finite disappointments,” he said, citing poor governance, widespread corruption, poverty, unemployment, and threats to family life and the environment.

He also lamented global crises, including “the genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip and Occupied West Bank, the starvation in the Sudan and South Sudan, the ongoing tension in the East of the DRC and its neighbours in Rwanda, and the intractable situation of the Ukraine-Russian war.”

He lamented “the relative silence or very muted criticism of leaders,” which, he said, has meant that “these crimes against humanity have cruelly been normalised. It is a sad hour.”

Custodians of Hope

Despite these grim realities, Cardinal Brislin insisted that Christians are not defined by despair: “We do not mourn like those who have no hope. We are custodians of hope.” For him, the key question for the Church in the region is quo vadis? – “Where are we going?”

He underlined that Christians are not bystanders but active participants in shaping a new future. “We have the ability to change things, the capacity to dream, to learn and unlearn so that our minds are not trapped in ideologies or unreflected patterns.” Like Queen Esther, he said, the Church has been prepared by God “for an hour such as this.”

Synodality

The 69-year-old Cardinal reminded the bishops of the path of Synodality, stressing that their mission is not only to discern but also to act together as a pilgrim Church. “We cannot slack in building faith communities that unshackle minds and release both wisdom and skills so that together – synodally – we can use our agency to build what Pope Francis so desperately desired, a Church of the poor for the poor,” he said.

 “A Church where the poor would feel at home despite their ‘otherness’; a Church where people can become the best versions of themselves, despite the dominant systems which have so reduced peoples’ dignity and their sense of self-worth that they no longer believe in their own abilities and cannot embrace their own calling to be agents of change, agents of promoting the values of God’s Kingdom,” he added.

Building Trust in a Fragmented World

One of the most urgent tasks for the next 50 years, Cardinal Brislin said, is rebuilding trust. He acknowledged the wounds caused by racism, classism, abuse, cover-ups, and silencing of voices within the Church and society, which have “broken trust in leadership.” He warned against the dangers of “spin” and hypocrisy, stressing that “trust is built on a sincere spiritual foundation.”

“Our striving for unity will only be achieved through building trust in honesty,” he said. “We can only build trust and reduce that deficit by a spiritual renewal of keeping our promises, being transparent, ministering compassionately and with genuine care for others, and ensuring that our actions align with our words.”

A Mission of Renewal and Action

Cardinal Brislin emphasized that Jubilee is not simply about celebration but about action. “Faith without action is dead,” he reminded the bishops, challenging them to live as true missionaries of hope in today’s world.

He noted signs of the Church moving into new contexts, including “the first commissioning of digital missionaries” during this Jubilee Year. Quoting Corrie ten Boom, he encouraged delegates: “Never be afraid to entrust an unknown future to a known God.”

Looking Ahead

As IMBISA embarks on its next 50 years, Cardinal Brislin concluded with a vision of endurance and transformation. “May we too soar like eagles, run and not grow weary, and walk and not grow faint, striving and holding on until the kingdom of this world is transformed into the Kingdom of our God,” he said.

At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop José Ponce de León of Manzini Diocee presented a cake to Cardinal Brislin and Bishop Adam Musialek SCI, in celebration of the Cardinal’s 69^th birthday and Bishop Adam’s 16th episcopal ordination anniversary, both observed on September 24.