Click HERE to download this letter
Dear brother and sister in Christ,
welcome to St Lucia! Welcome to Isimangaliso, a Zulu word meaning place of wonders. It is indeed so.
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park was listed as South Africa's first World Heritage Site in December 1999 in recognition of its superlative natural beauty and unique global values.
The Catholic Church has been present in St Lucia since 1965 offering not only the Sunday Mass to locals and visitors but also a quiet place of retreat where people would come to pray and be alone with the Lord. "Jesus said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.' People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place". (Mark 6, 31)
St Lucia has proved to be an excellent place to do so. It is not only a quiet place but a place of wonders, where we see God's hand at work!
There is something else: "The name".
Saint Lucy (283-304), also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her name is therefore a symbol of communion of different Christian churches.
St. Lucia was first named in 1554 - "Rio de Areias de Ouro" (River of the sands of gold) by the survivors of the Portuguese ship Saint Benedict. At this stage the Tugela river mouth was known as St. Lucia. Later, in 1575, the Tugela river was properly named Tugela and St. Lucia received its current name. Later Mission Rocks was named in 1888, when a Catholic Mission was established on the Eastern Shores, approximately 10km north of the St. Lucia mouth.
In order to celebrate God's beautiful creation, we realized we could offer much more than two or three rooms to visitors as in the present house and we started dreaming together of a new retreat and training centre with 12 single cottages, a hall and kitchen, a church looking onto the lake and the Bishops' house.
Would you like to help us make it possible? One simple way to do it is through the "Buy a brick project": donating R150 for 10 bricks, R 300 for 20 bricks, R1500 for 100 bricks!
The total project would take about 600,000 bricks.
All donors receive a certificate attesting to their contribution, their names are registered in the Memorial Book of the Centre and will be remembered in every Eucharist celebrated in the St Lucia Church.
Thank you for your interest and support. Thank you for making this possible. God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary,
Bishop José Luis IMC
Click HERE to download the donation form
I would like to donate:
R 150 for 10 bricks
R 300 for 20 bricks
R 1500 for 100 bricks
R ….............
Name and Surname: …...................................................................
Address: .....................................................................................
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Banking details
Account name: St Lucia Centre
Bank: First National Bank
Account Number: 62 285 445 807
Branch: Mtubatuba
Branch number: 220330
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
MTUBATUBA BRANCH
Cnr Jan Smuts & St Lucia Avenue
Mtubatuba
3935
South Africa
SWIFT: FIRNZAJJ
