Archbishop Thabo's sermon for the Easter Vigil

The following is the text of the sermon preached by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba at the Easter Vigil at St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, tonight:

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter to you all.

We come to this Easter Sunday, to this open tomb, with the dark reality of our country very much at the forefront of our minds. Over these Lenten days we have come to the lowest point in our political life. Like many, I feel that the dream of South Africa sometimes feels more like a nightmare, a prolonged Passiontide, so to speak. Personal interests, corruption, private gain, entitlement, a vicious contempt for the poor and the common good, a culture of blatant lies and cronyism—and possibly worse—dominate our public landscape.

Archbishop Thabo's Maundy Thursday Reflection

Archbishop prays for "a powerful, united coalition which puts first the interests of the poor"

A prayer offered at the beginning of a memorial service for the late Ahmed Kathrada in St George's Cathedral, Cape Town:

Loving and compassionate God of the Universe, Triune God, Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer,

Whose arm bends the arc of justice towards the poor and the oppressed,

 and whose ear is ever inclined to the cry of those who are burdened under the weight of injustice,

Archbishop's statement on South African Cabinet reshuffle

President Zuma's dismissal of the stellar team at the finance ministry constitutes an assault on the poor of South Africa.


Who stands to lose when we can't raise foreign investment to finance growth in our country? The poor. Who stands to lose when interest rates on the money we already owe gobbles up our nation's resources? The poor.

Archbishop Thabo's prayer at the interfaith funeral of Kathy Kathrada

Prayer at the funeral of Kathy Kathrada at West Park Cemetery, Johannesburg

Let us pray:

Loving and compassionate  God of the Universe, Triune God, Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer,

Whose arm bends the arc of justice towards the poor and the oppressed,
 and whose ear is ever inclined to the cry of those who are burdened under the weight of injustice,

Archbishop Thabo mourns "gentle giant" of our struggle

Today we mourn the passing of a gentle giant of our struggle for freedom.

But we also celebrate the life of a very courageous and principled leader of that struggle.