The history of the parishes in the Diocese of Eshowe

Melmoth

(1955)

The town of Melmoth is situated about half­way between Eshowe and Mahlabatini. A Catholic of the town, Mr. Quail, offered Bishop Spreiter a piece of land in Melmoth already in 1923 (TT 17-07-23). The bishop had to decline the offer as he had to make other foundatons which were far more urgent. In 1930, the Benedictines bought a fifteen-hectare property on the fringe of the town. It took a long time before they were able to make a foundation there. Bishop Aurelian Bilgeri eventually sent Fr. Gerard Schempp (1898­ 1971) and Bro. Alexander Grotter (1890­1975) to Melmoth. They opened the St. Pius X Mission on March 14, 1955. The income from a black wattle plantation and a sugar-cane field provided the necessary money to run the mission. The old farm house on the property was turned into a parish centre.

Mark Hussey of Pretoria drew up plans for a new church. Construction work started in July 1960 and was completed nine months later. The church, which can accommodate about seventy people, was blessed on April 9, 1961. With a tiny pointed turret on the roof, its architecture is reminiscent of the ancient building tradition of the Cistercian monks. A multi­purpose hall was built nearby and opened on May 19, 1979.

Benedictine Sisters of Twasana were stationed at Melmoth from 1964 to December 1975. They looked after the house and garden and taught catechism. The parish of Melmoth remained relatively small. About 550 Catholics were registered in the parish in 1990. Most of the English­speaking parishioners lived in the town itself, whereas the Zulu­speaking parishioners formed small communities which came together for Mass at eight outstations in the district of Melmoth. Three of these outstations were situated in the farm district of Melmoth and five in the so­called black reserve.

Parish Priests of Melmoth

1. Gerard Schempp OSB March 1955 ­ April 1961
2. Wigbert Drzyzga OSB April 1961 ­ Sept. 1975
3. Waldemar Dröber OSB Sept. 1975 ­ Dec. 1977
4. Theodore Landmann OSB Dec. 1977 ­ Feb. 1986
5. Hermenegild Maier OSB Feb. 1986 ­ May 1987
6. Peter Scholz OSB May 1987 ­

Assistant Priests at Melmoth

1. Wigbert Drzyzga OSB Jan. 1960 - April 1961
2. Theodore Landmann OSB April 1962 - May 1962
3. Wolfgang Stelzer OSB May 1962 - Aug. 1962
4. Vianney Strehl OSB Oct. 1967 - Jan. 1968
5. Ruprecht Wolf OSB Aug. 1972 - Nov. 1972
6. Moses Xulu April 1993 - July 1993

Benedictine Brothers at Melmoth

1. Alexander Grotter OSB March 1955 - April 1961
2. Theodulf Kramer OSB March 1955 - Sept. 1955
3. Dietrich Schmid OSB Jan. 1956 - June 1956
4. Bernard Pachner OSB Nov. 1959 - Feb. 1960

Ntuthuko Combined Primary School

This page was last updated on Thursday, 17 May 2001 23:36:30