The newly appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Southern Africa has asked the members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) for “collaboration and assistance” in his new mission.

In his first address to the Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa gathered in Mariannhill Diocese for the conference’s August 5 to 9 plenary session, Archbishop Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński said he was very happy to hear that Pope Francis had assigned him to Southern Africa and thanked the SACBC president for inviting him to attend the plenary session.

“Allow me to begin by expressing how happy I am that the Holy Father has sent me to this beautiful country.   From the beginning of my nomination, I received the expression of your welcoming goodwill,” said Archbishop Jagodziński.

In his Tuesday, August 6 address, Archbishop Jagodziński said, “As the Holy Father’s personal representative in this part of this wonderful continent, I assure you I will try my best to support you in your efforts to carry out the invaluable mission entrusted to you.”

“My function as a pontifical legate is daily to make stronger and more effective the bonds of unity which exist between the Apostolic See and particular churches,” he added.

Archbishop Jagodziński then went on to address the financial constraints exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the role of Episcopal Conferences in providing “adequate and dignified support” to retired bishops.

He said, “The pandemic has taken its toll on not only our personal lives but also on the collective Church,” and as a result “the collections for the World Mission Day and Peter’s Pence has suffered a significant decline” as there’s been a “significant reduction in donations from the faithful all over the world due to either economic crisis or unfavourable opinions or controversy within the Church.”

Although there’s a significant decline in donations, Archbishop Jagodziński encouraged the SACBC to seek financial support from the Papal Foundation which “generously funds numerous projects all around the world.”

As some Dioceses in the region are under Apostolic administration and with some Bishops reaching retirement age, Archbishop Jagodziński asked for “collaboration and assistance” with “the Canonical process for the election of new Bishops.”

In his concluding remarks, Archbishop Jagodziński reminded the Bishops of the 2025 Jubilee Year under the theme ‘Pilgrims of hope’.

“Preparations are already underway in Rome for the 2025 Jubilee, a special year of grace and pilgrimage in the Catholic Church. The Jubilee will be the Church’s first ordinary jubilee since St. John Paul II led The Great Jubilee of 2000,” he said.

He added, “The motto approved by the Pope can be summed up in two words: Pilgrims of Hope.”

At the end of his address, Archbishop Jagodziński offered the bishops a copy of his latest book ‘Ghana in My Heart’ – a book about his four-year mission in Ghana where he served as Apostolic Nuncio before his appointment to Southern Africa.