RIP, Bishop Hugh Slattery MSC

Bishop Emeritus Hugh Partick Slattery was born on the 10th of March 1934 in Nenagh in Co Tipperary, Ireland. Feeling the call to the priesthood he joined the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs) and was ordained a priest In 1958. In 1984 he was appointed and ordained the Bishop of Louis -Trichardt- Tzaneen. On the 28th of January 2010 he retired and went to live in a small community to continue pastoral work. He passed away at Holy Cross Home, Pretoria on Sunday 6th of October.

His missionary life was full and varied. When the Lumko Missiological Institute was set up the MSCs were approached to provide qualified staff and Fr Hugh Slattery was missioned there. The Institute developed and provided courses in local languages and social anthropology for new missionaries. Training was also provided for catechists, and other departments were added to deliver training in pastoral and biblical studies. The Institute produced many practical training materials for various lay ministries which have been widely used around the world. In 1978, Fr Hugh Slattery co-edited Pastoral Orientation in a Changing World.

Bishop Hugh was also instrumental in the writing of the book HIV/ AIDS A Call to Action - Responding as Christians, was Inspired by the positive response he received to a Pastoral Letter he wrote on the issue. The Pastoral Letter received praise from the then Archbishop of Durban, Wilfrid Napier. In the foreword to the book, he writes: "The Pastoral letter by Bishop Hugh Slattery is a most valuable instrument in the battle not only to contain the spread of HIV/AIDS, but especially to ensure that the followers of Jesus reach out in love and compassion to those who are suffering from AIDS ... Bishop Slattery's approach will make it possible for many more Catholics to know the Church's teaching and live it. In that way they will not only make a telling impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS, but also rebuild their marriages and family life on the values of the Gospel."

He also played an important role in having other materials published but his crowning glory was the promotion of the cause resulting in the eventual beautification of Blessed Benedict Daswa on 13 September 2015. The now Bishop Emeritus, Hugh Slattery MSC, in his book on Benedict Daswa - South Africa's First Martyr, writes "Nourished by prayer, the Word of God and the regular reception of the Sacraments, Benedict was deeply involved in the life of the parish. He was full of enthusiasm for the spread of the gospel through building up strong, local Catholic communities.”