The history of the parishes in the Diocese of Eshowe
KwaDlangezwa is a small town near the Ongoye (Zululand) University. The university was established for Zulu students in accordance with the policy of apartheid which provided separate educational facilities for the different ethnic communities in South Africa. Teaching at the university began in February 1960 with only forty-one students. The campus consists not only of lecture-rooms, a library, an administration block and sports facilites but also has large dormitory buildings for students. Initially the University of Zululand catered mainly for Zulu and Swazi ethnic groups, but since 1979 black students from any ethnic group within South Africa were accepted. The university was opened to all races in 1986 (ZULULAND OBSERVER, 22-04-88).
Violence erupted several times at the university as students and outsiders with different political affiliations strove to gain the ascendancy in campus affairs. The atmosphere at the university was already full of tension when Zulu warriors arrived at the campus on October 29, 1983, leaving six people dead and a hundred injured (DAILY NEWS, 07-11-83). Occasional disturbances causing the temporary closure of the university happened right up to the early nineties, but the situation has calmed down considerably since 1993.
Enrolment at the Zululand University
| 1960 | 41 |
| 1965 | 238 |
| 1970 | 599 |
| 1975 | 1 118 |
| 1980 | 1 600 |
| 1985 | 2 800 |
| 1990 | 3 900 |
| 1994 | 5 100 |
A residential township was built nearby for the lecturers and other employees of the university. It became known as KwaDlangezwa or Vulindlela township. The Catholics of the town gathered regularly for Mass in a private home. A generous donation by Father Eugene Reitmaier, a German benefactor who had worked in Zululand for some time, enabled Bishop Mansuet Biyase to build a church at KwaDlangezwa. Bro. Jacob Riedmann (19131980) drew up the plans for the church and erected the building in 1979/80. It was completed in April 1980. Bishop Mansuet Biyase blessed it on December 14, 1980, and dedicated it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. KwaDlangezwa did not attract many newcomers apart from university employees. The parish, therefore, had only about two hundred and fifty Catholics in 1990.
Parish Priests of KwaDlangezwa
This page was last updated on 24 October 2006 17:41:26