Apostle of Lesotho Chapter Seven

THE GLORIOUS SEQUEL


WHILE Joseph had lain on his death bed, he had been granted a vision of the multitude of people who would come to belief in God in Lesotho in the years to come. "Divine mercy is infinite," a guest heard him murmur."It will not be content with so small a number of conversions in Lesotho."
And the glorious sequel to his life of love and labour began the instant he surrendered his soul to the Creator. The bush telegraph worked overtime and from far and wide the mourners arrived for his funeral which was held two days later. The songs they sang were hymns of joy, not mourning. Ntate Gerata had gone home to God and all who loved him shared in the joy of their sure knowledge that he had come into his eternal reward.
Paramount Chief Griffith was at the funeral, as was Chief Maama. "Father Gerard came to us a long time ago," he said. "At that time I was still a young boy and it was then that I got to know him. When I was older I met him often and when I called to see him during his final illness he spoke so impressively that I shall never forget his words."
Chief Maama reminded the people that it was Father Gerard who carried prayer and food to King Moshoeshoe over at Thaba Bosiu while it was under siege. He marvelled at how Gerard had passed through the besieger lines.
Chief Maama continued, "Father Gerard was certainly an extraordinary man, a man who never spared himself in his priestly ministry, who had the same concern for the chief and the pauper...
you could find him, our father, on his knees beside a sickbed, praying and instructing the sick person in the things of God.
"In conclusion I shall express my thoughts in this way: Father Gerard was a man who, you might say, did not eat food, but fed himself on prayer, and if prayer is something which which one can feed the people, then he has fed us Basotho too, for a very long time."
Nobody knows who was the first person to decide to take soil from Father Gerard's grave but soon people found Ramehlolo had not forgotten them, even though he was no longer alive in their midst.
There was a family of six who had run out of mealie meal with no hope of more until the following harvest. They threw a handful of the soil in the food sack and for the next four months it yielded as much meal as they required.
In the end, the mother put the remainder into a paraffin tin and added a little more of the soil. For a further seventeen days, the contents fed two adults and a child. By then the rains had come and the harvest was ripening and the sack as well as the jug failed to field any further provisions. Father Gerard interceded only when the need lasted.


Many illnesses were cured among people who wore a small bag containing the soil around their necks. Others were kept immune from epidemics. A child who could only move around on crutches regained her health. A woman whose hands and feet were deformed, was also cured.
A young boy, Gabriel Seforo, wasted by disease, was asked by his mother to use the little strength he had left to ask for Father Gerard's intercession to procure his healing. He did as she asked and was cured instantaneously.
Josepha, the mother of several children who had died, saw that her last-born, too, was at death's door. On the advice of their friends, she carried him to Father Gerard's grave. The journey took two days. Every now and then Josepha checked her baby to see if the little one was still breathing. When she arrived at the grave, her infant was barely alive. She and her friends prayed fervently for nine days. The baby was cured completely, and, rejoicing, they returned to their village.
"When we went to Father Gerard's grave, I walked as if I could see the Apostle of the Basotho in my heart," Josepha said. "I felt him close to us. It was his presence that upheld me to the end."
In 1940 and 1941 a process for the beatification of Father Gerard was set into motion. Many people came forward with tales of miraculous cures.
One cure was that of Florina Phakela, who in 1928 at the age of six was cured of blindness. Florina had developed eye trouble at the age of six. Growths appeared within the sockets of her eyes and protruded from them. She became totally blind. Every month her mother took her to a Dr. Hertz, who visited Roma on these occasions. For five months he treated her. During the sixth visit, he returned the five shilling fee to Florina's mother and told her he could do nothing for her child.


On the advice of her parish priest, the mother put a bag which contained soil from Father Gerard's grave around her child's neck at the site of the tomb. Next day Father Pennerath visited Florina to pray over her and let her hold Father Gerard's stole in her hand. Her mother started a novena to the Apostle of Lesotho.
While the novena was still on, a priest Florina did not know appeared to her in a dream. He put his hand on her eyes and said: "You will be cured, my child, and you will see again."
Next morning when she awoke she was cured. The secretions from her eyes had dried up and disappeared. The outgrowths from the eye sockets which protruded about 2 cm had also disappeared. The sores on her head had formed crusts. By the following morning they too had gone.


Florina was delighted, telling her mother not to dress her because she could see. She told what had happened and was taken to the presbytery by her mother, where she asked to see the priest who had appeared to her. There was a retreat on and all the priests were there. Not one of them was the one she sought. She was shown six photographs and pointed out an old picture of Father Gerard, who had died fourteen years previously, saying: "That's the one. It was he who came to visit me at night."
Ramehlolo, who never could bear to see a child suffer, had once again asked God for a miracle and the wonder had been granted.


Father Joseph Gerard of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 15, 1988, in a Mass conducted at at Lesotho's capital, Maseru. This man, a son of French farmers, whose mode of travel was on horseback and whose only desire ever was to bring people to the happiness of knowing God, is now known as Blessed Joseph Gerard OMI.


The Basotho feel about Blessed Joseph Gerard the way the Irish do about St. Patrick.
The impressive aspect about this holy man of God, however, is the quality of the service he gave rather than the measure of his success. Few people, having read an account of Ntate Gerata, would doubt that he would have rendered the same service without stinting if he had realised at the beginning of his priestly life that all his labours together would succeed in bringing one person alone into relationship with the One and True God Who created us.
Joseph Gerard became great only because to him, except for himself, no human being ever appeared small.


If you wish to find out more about this great man of God, visit
Joseph Gerard, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_G%C3%A9rard
Oblate Communications tells of Joseph Gerard and the new icon of Blessed Joseph Gerard by Oblate Associate Suzanne Manchevsky, see
http://www.omiworld.org/information.asp?iID=435&N=&pag=6

Do you feel inspired to bring the Word of God to others? Then why not follow Blessed Joseph Gerard's path and become a priest.

*Photographs taken by Catherine Nicolette.  With thanks to the artist who created the design of the beautiful Basotho hat on a wayside sign in South Africa. 
The graceful thatched house surrounded by whispering trees - a sight to lift the spirits of the weary traveller and a reminder of the hospitality given to Joseph Gerard in Africa.

Lumiere Charity remembers Bangladesh

A candle has been by Lumiere Charity in remembrance for all who have been recently affected in the devastating floods in Bangladesh. It is reported that seventy people have gone to final rest, and 200,000 people are stranded in the floods. People are feared trapped in the mud, and rescue operations continue. May strength and safety be with all who are helping those affected by the floods which set off landslides. In the spirit of Lumiere, is there any way you could help?


With thanks to the reporter who reported the plight of our Bangladesh brothers and sisters in our human family, in the link
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/thirty-dead-150-000-stranded-bangladesh-floods-050039361.html?nc 

Apostle of Lesotho Chapter Six

On 15 August 1878, three young men, a girl and a woman were baptised as believers in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The baptisms were at St Monica's Mission. Many new believers from Roma attended the celebration. Two of the sisters and twenty school girls also came. The weather was radiant. A benefactor provided the food for the feast. Bishop Jolivet celebrated the Mass. Father Gerard carefully explained all the ceremonies and many people started thinking about seeking baptism for themselves. Two years later, eleven more catechumens were received and many children were baptised.


The Holy Family Sisters started a school at St Monica's Mission. With their help, Joseph began a dispensary and a small residential hospital. In his letters and diaries he mentions the ministry of healing the sick through medical services. Never once did he write of his healing power. Joseph had a great devotion to St Monica, the patroness of his parish. She was the mother of St Augustine. To mothers sorrowing about their sons' behaviour, he would always hold up St Monica as an example.


In 1897 Father Gerard was transferred back to Roma. He left St Monica's, where 759 people had sought and received baptism during his time there. Back in Roma, he took up his duties with the zeal and cheer the old-timers remembered.


In 1912 King Moshoeshoe's grandson, Chief Griffith Lerotholi, became a Christian. He told Joseph that his ancestors had appeared to him in a dream, and as a result he was baptised.


Joseph's life was ebbing towards its end. Two years after Chieft Griffith was baptised, Joseph was sixty years a priest and celebrated the day. On 14 May 1914 - some say on 22 May - he celebrated Holy Mass and took to bed. He ran a high fever. During his last days he took water into which a little mealie-meal had been stirred. On the evening of 29 May 1914 he passed away as he said the words, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."


*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette

Apostle of Lesotho Chapter Five

RAMEHLOLO - FATHER OF MIRACLES

To teach about Christianity is a commitment. Joseph Gerard possessed no car, telephone, or computer. And yet Joseph got the job done. Not having a car was one thing. To have to cross a swollen river on horseback after heavy rains had fallen was another. However, Joseph was a man of prayer who believed that nothing is impossible with God. He knew that faith can move mountains. He surrendered himself totally and absolutely to God without holding back any part of himself. Prayer was his mainstay and if he needed anything, he used to turn to God in prayer about the issue. He never forgot what Jesus has told the Apostles about the power of prayer:
"Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks, receives. The one who seeks, finds. The one who knocks, enters. Would one of you hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf, or a poisonous snake when he asks for a fish? If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks him." (The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, verses 7 to 11).


And so Joseph never hesitated to ask God for needs. The Basotho saw miracles that occurred after Joseph's prayer. Their tradition records many of these marvels. One such incident was as follows. People came to Joseph to tell them a man named Azarias was dying. When they arrived, Joseph was about to celebrate the Mass, and he finished the celebration first. At the end of Mass, others came and told him Azarais had died of a haemorrhage. "He would not have gone without speaking to me first," Joseph said. The people tried to reason with him but he ignored all arguments and made his way to the dead man's hut.


Upon arrival, he called out his name: "Azarias!" three times. The dead man stirred and his chest heaved.
Joseph removed the death bandage from his head and said: "Azarias, my friend, you would have amazed me if you had gone before I came. you're going to speak to me first and I will give God to you."
"That's good, Father," Azarias said. His sister asked; "Has my brother really come back to life?"
"Go out of the hut and leave me alone with my friend," Joseph said.
After hearing Azarias' confession he called in the relatives and administered the Sacrament of the Sick.
"Peace be with you, Azarias. Now you can go on your way," he said. "Remember me when you get there."
Joseph left the hut and Azarias died.


At times when Joseph was praying from his breviary, he was sometimes seen to be surrounded by a halo of light. A group of women said they once saw him flanked by angels. The Basotho believed the evidence of their eyes. It was not only due to his example and preaching that Joseph's mission among them became so successful. The wonders people saw were a great inspiration to the Basotho.


*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette

Apostle of Lesotho Chapter Four

FATHER GERARD'S LABOURS IN THE VINEYARD


From the death of King Moshoeshoe in 1870 until the time of his own death in May 1914 - sixty years after he had been ordained in Pietermaritzburg -  Joseph Gerard continued his priestly actions and labours. If this period in his life were summarised, it may simply be said that he bore the burden of the heat of the day. He was a totally dedicated priest. Joseph Gerard was a deeply humble man, who wrote his thoughts and words in his diary. 


Joseph had great concern for his parishioners. On one occasion the wife of a migrant mineworker, who only saw her husband once a year, came to Joseph and told him how she longed to see her husband. The priest and the woman prayed together for the man's early return. He came home a few days later, quite unexpectedly. When asked why he had come, he said that he had suddenly experienced a great desire to come home. That same day he had packed up and left.


Joseph had an innate belief in the dignity of humanity. He always followed in the footsteps of his Divine Master, Jesus the Christ. Joseph was conscious of the need to live an organised and disciplined life. In July 1871 he devised a comprehensive pastoral plan and programme with different groups at Roma mission. Joseph's only mode of transport to assist him with this busy ministry was on horseback. He was known for the many hours he spent totally absorbed in prayer.


Joseph's pastoral plan included saying Mass, reciting litanies and giving inspirational sermons. He conducted Benedictions of the Blessed Sacrament and recitals of the Rosary. Joseph instructed Catechumens and novice Sisters. He gave pastoral guidance and training to the St Elizabeth, St Anne and St Magdalene Groups. Joseph also heard Confessions, and conducted Retreats. In addition to his workload, Father Gerard made time to write the first Catholic Sesotho books and hymnals. He travelled to East London to arrange their publication.


In June 1874, Pope Piux IX, who had sent Bishop Allard to Africa in 1850, accepted his resignation. Father Gerard bade him farewell and welcomed the new Bishop, Jolivet. In October 1875 Bishop Jolivet and the Roma Mission Council sent Father Gerard to search for a site for a new mission at the kraal of Chief Molapo, the second son of King Moshoeshoe.


Joseph parted from Roma with sorrow. Summing up the situation as he left it, he noted that at the Village of the Mother of Jesus the mission was going fairly well. There were still about twenty Catechumens, including Qhobosheane from Tlo-o-tle Cave and his wife. The work of Joseph at St Monica Mission in Lesotho was to take from 1876 until 1897. The Mission was situated beside the border town of Ficksburg in the Orange Free State. Joseph regularly crossed the Caledon River to work with Basotho on the Free State farms. Boer farmers offered Joseph great kindness and hospitality. He admired their custom of conducting family prayers and Bible readings. Gerard used to minister to the Basotho people on the farms of the Boers during the twenty one years he was based at St Monica's. Joseph was known for his gift of bringing peace and reconciliation.

*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette. Please feel free to use copyright free 
for any worthy purpose

Apostle of Lesotho, Chapter Three

King Moshoeshoe was captivated by
the statue of Mary of Nazareth

FATHER GERARD AND MOSHOSHOE

What inspires that feeling between two men, each a giant in his own way, that reaches beyond respect and courtesy to become a true deep friendship such as the one shared by the King of the Basotho, Moshoshoe, and the French priest Joseph Gerard? From the very start these two loved and respected one another, although the difference between them could not have been more strongly marked.


King Moshoeshoe had been born in the 1780's in Menkhoaneng in the valley of the Hlotse, about twelve miles from the spot where this river joins the Caledon. He was the son of Mokhachane, the Chief of the Mokoteli, a branch of the Koena, and his first wife Kholu, the daughter of a neighbouring Fokeng Chief. His parents named him Lepoqo.


His height was slightly above average and he was well-built; an energetic, shrewd, ambitious man and a born leader. He gave himself the name of Moshoeshoe, the Shaver, after his first raid, on which occasion he captured the cattle of a neighbouring Chief, RaMonaheng. By taking his cattle he had shaved of RaMonaheng's beard, he claimed. The shweshwe sound of the latter two syllables of his nickname give the onomatopoeiac effect of shears cutting. Moshoeshoe was very proud of this story. The raid was the first of many and Moshoeshoe always won the encounters.


In 1822 the Nguni tribe attached the Basotho, Chiefdom after Chiefdom. As they had no Paramount Chief they did not unite and were vanquished. Some fled from the Caledon valley and sought refuge on the mountains the hills where nobody had previously wanted to live. After the raids, they formed the nucleus of the new Basotho nation under the leadership of Moshoshoe.


King Moshoeshoe allowed Bishop Allard to establish a mission station at Tlo-o-tle, about eight miles to the south of Thabu Bosiu. The settlement was named Mose oa M'a Jesu - the Village of the Mother of Jesus - and later became known  simply as Roma. 


Joseph had left the Zulu Mission of St Michael's in Natal after closing the Mission of our Lady of Seven Dolours on 15 October 1861. When they reached the beautiful mountain country of Lesotho, they first held a novena to Mary of Nazareth in a small hut at the foot of Thaba Bosiu, the King's mountain.


On the ninth day of their novena, 17 February 1862, they climbed the mountain. Moshoeshoe received them with hospitality and courtesy. He put the bishop and Joseph completely at ease. He was delighted to hear about their project to instruct his people. He sent them home to fetch their luggage and when they returned he ordered one of his sons to lead them to the site he had given them, later known as Roma Valley. They soon began to build their chapel and on 1 November of the following year they officially opened their church.


Joseph had become fairly familiar with the Sotho tongue, but three days before the opening he hid among the mountain rocks to collect himself before God and planned his sermon for the large and imposing audience. The king had told them to invite him to the opening and undertaken to speak to his people in their favour.


The King arrived at nine in the morning, accompanied by several of his sons and great number of horseman. The chapel looked its best. In the centre there was a beautiful statue of Mary of Nazareth, sent by Father Barret. The bishop celebrated a solemn Mass and two hymns in Sesotho were sung. Joseph rose to give his first sermon in Sesotho. After the sermon, the king asked to have his say. He spoke to his people at length. He told them that he had brought them a treasure, that they should seek the true religion. Calling his Chiefs by name, he instructed them to see that the church would always be full, that no harm should be done to the mission and that men and women should place their services at the priest's disposal.


During the sermon Joseph had said: "He that will believe and be baptised, will be saved." These words the kin now repeated. That evening the King again asked to be taken to the Chapel. He was captivated by the statue of Mary of Nazareth, the artistic remembrance of the woman from Israel and the Mother of Jesus the Christ. Joseph took the statue down and placed it in his hands. He wrote later to a friend that he hoped that the influence of Mary, 'our good and merciful Mother' would be with King Moshoeshoe.


That night a short service was held at the mission. This was also attended by the King. An ox was killed in the King's honour the next day, as a gala dinner from the bishop for the King. Joseph was touched to see how he shared out the meat among his people. There was a very humane and lovable side to this King, he thought. The King shook hands with the priests before asking one of the brothers, Terpent, to play a military march that had caught his fancy. Then he left.


The friendship between Joseph and Moshoeshoe grew in the years that followed. The Holy Family Sisters of Bordeaux arrived in Lesotho in 1865 and Moshoeshoe was delighted to meet them when he visited the mission. He invited them with the bishop and Joseph to Thabu Bosiu where the Sisters were seated on magnificent white lion hides. Tea was served and Moshoeshoe presented the reverend mother with a cloak made of tigerskin. Afterwards they shared dinner.


The visitors held a service of prayer and instruction and the Sisters sang the Ave Maris Stella. They prayed for peace. Joseph advised the King to place the nation under the protection of Mary of Nazareth.


On 18 June 1865 war was declared on Moshoeshoe. The King was visiting the mission when a messenger brought an ultimatum of war to the King of the Basotho. Moshoeshoe asked the missionaries to pray and Joseph took him into the chapel where he handed the statue of Mary of Nazareth to the King who gazed at it with confidence.


During the month of August 1865 Thaba Bosiu was shelled for weeks. Father Gerard carried prayer and food to the King, passing through the army to do so. How he succeeded was a mystery to everybody concerned but it gained for him the lasting gratitude of the King. On 11 August the army appeared in Roma Valley. They began to shoot from above the wood where Joseph was guarding the baggage of the missionaries at the lower part of the forest. Joseph got into the tent of the wagon. The army reached a place beside the one where he was hiding. He could hear the orders from the general.


Several bullets whistled past him. He resigned himself and prepared to die. A great number of bullets bored holes through the wagon. Eventually the storm passed over and two Sisters, Mary Joseph and Mary of Jesus arrived, deeply concerned, to see if Joseph had had any accident.


On the remembrance day of Mary of Nazareth 15th August 1865, the fiercest assault on Thaba Bosiu was made by the Army. That day, hearing the noise of the cannons, Joseph ran to call Bishop Allard, who was with the members of the mission. All fell on their knees and offered Lesotho to Mary of Nazareth.


After a siege of two months, the army retired on 25 September 1865. During the siege Joseph had brought to the mission a large number of Basotho fleeing from the Army. They received hospitality and charity. Two old women, unable to run away with their relatives, received shelter. Joseph found another, at least eighty years of age, nearly dead of starvation, whom he carried to the mission on his shoulders. Two wounded Basotho were nursed by the sisters before they died a month later.


The first solemn baptism at Roma mission took place on 8 October 1865. The King was present and Joseph glowed with happiness. A week later the sisters opened their school and in December Moshoeshoe visited the site of St Joseph's College and was present as the first stone was blessed.


In the years that followed, the friendship between the two men continued to grow. By January 1870 Moshoeshoe's health was failing. At the pitso - Lesotho Tribal Meeting -  of 18 January he relinquished his Chieftainship and made arrangements about the care of his wives. Moshoeshoe planned to be baptised. Shortly before he was due to be baptised, on 11 March at 9 o'clock in the morning, after a long and deep sleep, a deep sigh shook his body and the people surrounding him realised he was dead.


Joseph was on the way to visit him when the news reached him that the King had died. 
"I experienced such a deep sorrow that I have never felt a greater sorrow in my life," he wrote later.
Minister Jousse and his colleagues performed the burial ceremony, and Joseph and the missionaries attended it, especially to honour the man who had done so much to promote Christianity in Lesotho.

*Photograph taken by Catherine Nicolette. With thanks to the sculptor for this exquisite work of art

Apostle of Lesotho Chapter Two

Their host welcomed his guests

Joseph set about immediately to master two languages foreign to him; English and Zulu. He and Father Barret went to live in a Zulu village to learn the people's customs and language. Bishop Allard authorised them to establish themselves in the krall of Chief Dumisa, some thirty hours' travel from Pietermaritzburg. There were no roads or railways. The only mode of transport, ox wagons, proved too expensive for the missionaries. They left, accompanied by a guide. On the first day bad weather overtook them in the middle of a vast and almost uninhabited plain. They were forced to abandon their route to find shelter in a hut they had sighted from far. Their host, though poor, welcomed his drenched guests with kindness, fed them and allowed them to sleep in his hut for the night while their clothes were drying.


They were not to be left dry for long. At the crack of dawn on the next day they left and soon reached a small river, swollen by rain. With the water reaching to waist level, they crossed the stream. From place to place they met inhabitants, all of whom treated them with kindness and fed them hospitably.


On the third day they found themselves on the banks of the Umkomali River, a swift and deep stream, and wondered how to reach the other side. This is where the zimanga came in. They were excellent swimmers who would manufacture a bushel using reeds which had been strongly bound together. When someone wanted to cross the river, the bushel was cast into the water. The traveller would sit astride on the bundle, and would then move forward, taking care to keep balanced. Thus the top part of the body, or at least the head, would drift above the water. The zimanga would push the bushel from behind with one hand, then swim with the other and with their feet. Gerard described the crossing in a letter to his parents. Barret had anxiously watched Joseph's progress. No sooner was he a few steps into the water than the bark capsized. Upon a second attempt, Barret reached the opposite shore, though their maize grinder was lost in his shipwreck. A man started diving to recover it and succeeded in doing so.


By evening they reached a big kraal of some thirty huts. Their wealthy host arranged for them to be served with food. Next morning the two men rose very early. They crossed a high mountain to find themselves in an almost deserted part of vast forests, avoided by people on account of the many lions and wild animals roaming about. Joseph was enchanted by a small incident. The guide was walking ahead in order to prepare the way. Suddenly the priests could hear him speak to a bird, which was making a loud chirping noise and flapping its wings. The guide seemed to be encouraging it by talking to it.
"This is the honeybird," he called to the travellers. "The honeybird?" they repeated.
"Yes, this bird wants to lead us to a place where honey may be found."
The guide laid down his pack and told his companions to wait for his return. He followed the bird which kept flying ahead and chirping and then returning to him, as though to ask him to follow it. He had to abandon his search when the bird reached a steep rock.
Next day the guide was again called by a honeybird. This time he was more fortunate, bringing back a large quantity of wild honey. The two priests marvelled at the occurrence.


The journey ended without further incidents. They finally arrived in the great kraal of Chief Dumisa and went into his hut, to find him surrounded by about twenty young men, sitting in a circle, passing a pot of beer around. There was silence when the visitors entered. Then all the men greeted the two priests. One asked what they were looking for. The priests replied that they were representatives whose mission was to teach the people about God's affairs without asking for money.

Chief Dumisa received them hospitably. He put a hut at their disposal. All sorts of good were brought in to them. Then men, women and children came to have a look at their unusual guests. A goat, a gift from Chief Dumisa, was slaughtered and shared by the priests with their visitors. Then they were left to themselves.


A period of great activity ensued. Joseph built a small chapel, revealing a talent for the building trade. He also built a hut for himself and Father Barret. The first time it was a failure. The second attempt was more successful. When the rains became too heavy and penetrated the straw roof, he put up his umbrella and a goatskin. Then he would turn over and go back to sleep.


In September 1855 the two priests opened their chapel for the first time. A great number of people attended. The priests sang hymns and the Zulus began to hum along with them in a melodious sound. Joseph and Barret took French religious hymns and put Zulu words to them. The Zulus loved the litany to Mary of Nazareth because of the repetition of the words: "Pray for us".


Joseph had a gift for languages and became rapidly fluent in Zulu. He was able to preach and communicate fully with people. The mission was eventually suspended, and in 1862 Bishop Allard, Brother Bernard and Joseph set out on horseback for Lesotho. The magnanimous leader of the Basotho, King Moshoeshoe, had forged the people who had fled from tribal wars in the south into a single nation. He was an outstanding leader. It was here among the Basotho that Joseph would become a spiritual leader to thousands.