Pretoria, 10 June 2010

Dear Father Declan,

I was pleased to learn from Bishop José Luis that you are celebrating your Golden Jubilee of Priestly ordination. Please accept my sincerest congratulations on this most auspicious occasion. You have served the Church well over the past fifty years, and most especially the Church in South Africa. Your tireless efforts for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially in the Vicariate of Ingwavuma, have brought countless numbers to the faith. In addition, you have assisted many of the laity, the seminarians, the religious and the clergy in deepening their commitment to the Lord.

In a special way, the Holy See is mosts grateful to you for the service you rendered the Vicariate as Apostolic Administrator in the time between the death of Bishop O'Shea and the nomination of Bishop José Luis. I am particularly grateful for your willingness to continue in that role even when your health was not so good, and am appreciative of the assistance you have given to the new Bishop as he has assumed his pastoral care of the local Church in Ingwavuma.

Please be assured of a special remembrance in my prayers for you today as you celebrate your Golden Jubilee. I ask the Lord to continue to bless you abundantly, and to give you the physical and spiritual strength necessary to serve the Church for many more years to come. May Our Lady guide and protect you always, especially in your vocation as a Servite. To you, the Bishop, the clergy and rleiigous of the Vicariate of Ingwavuma I extend my sincerest congratulations and willingly impart to you all, in the name of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, the Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again, congratulations and "Ad multos annos"!

Archbishop James Patrick Green
Apostolic Nuncio