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A History lesson: (Extracts from www.saintcatherines.co.za)
Fr. Anselme Rousset O.M.I., the pioneer missionary who established the first Catholic church in Zululand, spent nearly twenty years at Emoyeni. He was the first priest to visit the Catholics in Empangeni at the turn of the century. Oblate missionaries from Emoyeni came to Empangeni three or four times a year to celebrate Mass for the Catholics and to administer other sacraments. In September 1921, Empangeni became part of the new Prefecture Apostolic of Zululand which Rome entrusted to the Benedictines. From August 1922 until February 1924 the Catholics of Empangeni were looked after from Inkamana which was two hundred kilometres away. Every few months Fr. Pancratius Pfaffel used to travel by train via Ladysmith, Durban and Gingindlovu to Empangeni to celebrate Mass, baptize children, hear confessions and bless marriages. The round-trip from northern Natal to Empangeni and back took more than a week. In 1922, a Catholic lady in Empangeni wanted to donate a property on which to start a Catholic church (TT 30-10-22). A year later, a farmer was ready to donate a large property near the Umhlatuze bridge, ten kilometres south of Empangeni, to Bishop Spreiter. In both instances the bishop had to decline the offer. It was too early to make a start in Empangeni.
There were about fifty Catholics in Empangeni in 1925. They had great plans. Under the leadership of Mrs. Croppinger, they started a church fund and managed to collect 80 pounds in less than six months.
In an effort to get sisters for Empangeni, they sent the following petition to Bishop Spreiter on November 10, 1925:
"We respectfully invite your attention to the grave need for educational facilities in this district which is known as the Lower Umfolozi District and of which Empangeni is the centre.
Eshowe itself is a cul-de-sac, that is to say it leads nowhere. There is never any likelihood for the railway ever being extended from that point. Furthermore, it is a considerable distance from the main railway line and by no means centrally situated from a population point of view...Other than the climatic conditions it is asserted that Eshowe has nothing further to recommend itself as an educational centre.
Empangeni, on the other hand, has much to recommend itself, and Your Lordship's attention is earnestly invited to the following facts:
1. Empangeni is the centre of the most thickly populated area of Zululand and the European population exceeds that of Eshowe by more than two hundred...
2. Empangeni is the most accessible point in Zululand. It is situated on the north coast line in the centre of the sugar plantations.
3. The Government has authorized the construction of a new line from Empangeni to Nkwalini which will make Empangeni even more central.
4. The present educational facilities are extremely elementary and parents are put to the heavy expense of sending their children to Durban and other large centres in order that they may be sufficiently educated to cope with the battle of life.
5. At the present moment there are at least fifty children in the immediate neighbourhood the parents of whom would gladly avail themselves of convent facilities if they were provided and it is certain that boarders and day scholars would at this very date amount to more than a hundred if secondary education were obtainable.
6. It is considered that a grant of land could be obtained within the boundary of the township at a moderate cost for the needs of a convent and school.
7. Your petitioners can without fear of contradiction give the assurance that the establishment of a convent and secondary school in Empangeni would be a financial success.
8. The climate within the township is healthy and should present no obstacle to the object of this petition.
9. There is a large number of children of our faith who are receiving little if any religious instruction. These children will, in the absence of a convent and school, grow up in ignorance of their religious duties and most probably will later in life embrace some other denomination which may be more easily available.
Bishop Thomas Spreiter was unable to accede to the request of the Catholic community in Empangeni. He lacked personnel as well as money. The bishop's journal shows that he was not very impressed by the arguments put forward by the Catholics of Empangeni in support of a convent. He wrote: "It is quite obvious that the Catholics of Empangeni belittle the progress which Eshowe has made so that their own town appears in a more favourable light. But Empangeni is not much of a 'town' either. According to the last census (1921) Eshowe had a population of 511 Whites, whereas 1123 Whites lived in the whole district of Empangeni. The Bishops' Conference decided that at least fifty percent of the pupils in Catholic schools should be Catholics. We can hardly run a convent school in Empangeni on that basis" (St. Patrick's, pg. 8-9). In a personal letter to the Catholics of Empangeni he said: "I understand and appreciate your reasons for establishing a convent in Empangeni. However, I am sorry to say that at present I have neither a priest nor sisters nor the necessary money" (letter of T. Spreiter to the Catholics of Empangeni, 26-11-25).
The Town Board agreed to sell the land at 70 pounds per acre. Bishop Spreiter bought the property and soon the ground was cleared for the building of a church. Work began in May 1940 under the direction of Bro. Blasius Brummer who was a builder and carpenter. Bro. Maurice Kr?hling designed the stained-glass windows and assembled them in his little workshop. The building was finished in July 1941. Fr. Theodos Schall blessed the new church on November 16, 1941.
THE ZULULAND TIMES (20-11-41) wrote about it:
"Sunday, November 16, was a red letter day for the Empangeni Catholics, as on that day their dream of years became reality. The new church which they had laboured for was opened. This church, which will, later on, be consecrated, is an example of what a very small body of persons can do if they so desire. When the first funds were collected for the building the number of Catholics totalled seven, and today the number of European members of the congregation are about twenty-three. “
Bishop Bilgeri asked Mark Hussey, of Pretoria, to draw up plans for a new church with seating capacity for about four hundred people. Eight firms submitted a tender for the project. The contract was awarded to O'Connell Brothers of Empangeni who offered to build the church at a total cost of 32 852 pounds ( 27 712 pounds for the church and 5140 pounds for the tower). The foundations were laid in July 1959. In June 1960, the structural and brick work was finished. On Christmas Eve 1960, the Catholics gathered for the first time in the new church for Mass. The church was officially opened and blessed by Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri on June 4, 1961. To mark the silver jubilee of the opening, Bishop Mansuet Biyase of Eshowe consecrated the church on September 29, 1985.
Built on a hill right in the centre of Empangeni, the St. Patrick's Church has become a well-known landmark of the town. The building is not only impressive because of its modern design, but also because of its size. It is thirty-five metres long and fifteen metres wide and covers an area of just over five hundred square metres. The parish of Empangeni contributed just over ten percent of the total cost for the construction of the church (R 8 000 of the total cost of R 75 000).
The cache is situated at the rear entrance of the school with a glimpse of the school buildings behind the wall. I strongly recommend you drive around the block and have a look at the St. Patric’s church and surrounding buildings. Be careful as the cache is hidden next to a very busy road and could easily by compromised.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybfg vgf evz