Although you can be a temple of the Holy Spirit by yourself, you cannot be Church by yourself. So, as a Catholic in Eswatini, Botswana and South Africa, you belong to a parish, then possibly a deanary, then a Diocese or Vicariate, then SACBC, the IMBISA then SECAM as part of your Catholic Family in Africa in the bigger family of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

SACBC – The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (which is comprised of the Catholic Bishops of Botswana, South Africa and Eswatini) is an organisation, approved by the Holy See, of diocesan Bishops and others equivalent in Canon Law, serving in the ecclesiastical Provinces of Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, in and through which members exercise their pastoral office jointly through the pooling of wise counsel and experiences in matters concerning their common interest in order to promote that greater good which the Church offers humankind especially through formation and programmes of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of the age.

IMBISA  – The Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa” was officially constituted in 1978 to connect Bishops’ Conferences and enable better communication between the regions. Today, almost half a century since its inception, Imbisa continues to connect The Southern African Church. IMBISA is proud to include voices from the wider Catholic community alongside those of our Bishops, Clergy and Religious.

SECAM – The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) was born out of the wish of African Bishops during the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to establish a forum in which they could speak with one voice on matters pertaining to the Church in Africa. The establishment of SECAM is therefore the result of the Bishops’ resolve to build a continental structure in order to bring forth the African vision to the whole Church.