Learn more about Archbishop Siegfried Jwara

There’s always so much more to know when one meets someone new. So here’s a little more about our new Archbishop.

The Archbishop’s mother, Desideria Mkhize, attended a Mission boarding school at Himmelberg run by Franciscan Sisters of the Daughters of Assissi. Most of the sisters were convinced that Desideria would join them as a nun. But it did not happen.

When Desideria married Alfred Jwara, the sisters were disappointed. But their spirits lifted when parish priest, Father Siegfried Schultis looked into the future and said: “Since you did not become a nun, one of the three boys that you will bear, should be named Siegfried, and he will become a priest.”

But the priesthood was not young Siegfried’s initial aim. After finishing high school at Mahlongwa (an outstation of Umzinto parish), he had aspirations to become a motor mechanic. Mass was celebrated there once a month by Father John Driessen CMM, but when he couldn’t make it, the people would ask Siegfried to lead services for them.

This was like the first calling to priesthood. A shy person, Siegfried tried to resist but was pressured into accepting. Already at high school he’d been nicknamed ‘The Catechist’.

But when Siegfried wanted to join the Congregation of Marianhill Missionaries, there was a complication. His father was involved in a devastating car accident, and the family wanted Siegfried to go to work to help financially at home.

This difficult decision helped to cement Siegfried’s religious vocation, and he set out on the road to where he is today – Archbishop of Durban.