Bishop Zungu highlights the role of strong marriages, family life, and women in building a thriving Church and society in South Africa.
Newsroom (28/04/2026 Gaudium Press) Bishop Vincent Mduduzi Zungu has underscored the central role of strong marriages in shaping both a thriving Church and a stable society, calling for renewed commitment to family life across South Africa’s Catholic communities.
Speaking during an interview with the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Communications Office on the sidelines of a departmental workshop held April 24–25, the Bishop of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen marriage and family life. The workshop, hosted at the Lumko Institute Retreat and Conference Centre, focused on evaluating the life and apostolate of the laity, including sodalities within the Church.
“Any church that does not have healthy marriages is bound not to really prosper very much,” Bishop Zungu said. “But also, without marriage and a committed family life, our society will become much poorer.”
As part of practical initiatives, Bishop Zungu has introduced parish-level celebrations honoring couples who have been married for 15 or 20 years or more. These gatherings provide a platform for couples to share their experiences and reflect on what he described as “the wonders of being called to this sacrament of marriage.”
He emphasized that such encounters help couples recognize their vocation as more than a private commitment. “They are not just left alone,” he said, adding that married couples are called “to be, as it were, co-creators with God” and serve as “the backbone of society as well as the Church.”
The workshop also provided space for lay groups to share both challenges and aspirations in their ministries. According to Bishop Zungu, participants expressed their hopes for better support and formation, pointing to an ongoing need for deeper understanding of their baptismal calling.
“We still have a long way to go to help them understand the importance of their baptism,” he said, stressing that lay members must grow as both disciples and missionaries, becoming “salt of the earth and light of the world.”
Bishop Zungu also reflected on the St. Anne’s Interdiocesan Council Conference, held from April 24 to 26 in Johannesburg, where the contribution of women in the Church emerged as a key theme. He described women—especially those organized in groups such as St. Anne—as being at the forefront of evangelization.
“They are the ones who keep prayer life alive in our Church communities,” he said, noting their role in catechetical formation and in supporting families, particularly through preparing grandchildren for the sacraments. He added that women often provide pastoral care to others facing bereavement and marital difficulties.
“They have enriched the Church,” he said, while encouraging them to continue guiding engaged couples to embrace marriage with confidence. “It is God who calls people to the sacrament of marriage, and when God calls you, He cannot leave you alone.”
To further support families, Bishop Zungu pointed to the expansion of the SACBC’s marriage and family life desk into more metropolitan areas and dioceses, aiming to strengthen pastoral outreach.
Addressing broader questions of vocation, particularly in light of Vocations Sunday marked on April 26, Bishop Zungu encouraged young people to remain open to God’s call. Drawing on the example of Joseph and Mary, he said their lives gained meaning when they aligned their personal dreams with God’s plan.
“They had their dreams, their wishes, their expectations,” he said. “However, their life only made sense when they discovered that God also had a dream for them.”
He acknowledged that many young people hesitate to commit to priesthood, religious life, or marriage due to a perceived need for perfection. Rejecting this notion, he cited Pope Francis: “There is no perfect bishop, no perfect priest, no perfect parents, no perfect children.”
“Assisted by ongoing formation, we can reach our fullest dreams and really become what God wants us to be and become saints,” Bishop Zungu said.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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