Members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) have elected three Archbishops to head the conference from the end of January 2025.

The Wednesday, August 7 voting process began with nominations of Bishops eligible to be elected, followed by the voting/counting process. The same approach was applied three times as SACBC members were voting for the conference’s top three executives.

After close to two hours of nominations and voting/ counting, Cardinal Stephen Brislin of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cape Town was elected President, Archbishop Zolile Peter Mpambani SCI of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bloemfontein was elected 1st Vice President, and Archbishop Siegfried Mandla Jwara CMM of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Durban was elected 2nd Vice President.

Speaking with the SACBC communication office shortly after the election, both Cardinal Brislin and Archbishop Mpambani said they would continue the “good work” of the outgoing executive.

Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa are in Mariannhill Monastery for the August 5 to 9 plenary session. Over the past three days, the bishops met with the new Apostolic Nuncio to Southern Africa Archbishop Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński and heard reports from some departments.

On Tuesday, August 6 SACBC members heard reports from the department for Christian formation, a report from the Justice and Peace Commission regarding coalition politics which has led to a government of national unity in South Africa. The bishops also heard reports from the Future Vision Task team.

On Wednesday, August 7, the bishops heard reports from the SACBC mission council, the finance department, and reports from each Metro concerning the Diocesan Boundaries.

The next sessions will be dedicated to the departments for clergy, laity, and ecumenism.