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Place with a past Mission accomplished - Mariannhill

(Left: The imposing monastery complex with its Romanesque revival architecture and 40m campanile).

If no one else will go, I will.' And with these now-legendary words, controversial Trappist monk Wendelin Pfanner - Prior Francis - sparked a chain of events which would lead him to establish what became the largest and best-known Trappist abbey in the world: Mariannhill, on the outskirts of Pinetown, west of Durban.

Born in 1825 – one of twins – Wendelin Pfanner grew up on a farm in Austria. While his brother chose a life of farming, Wendelin was destined for the priesthood. His formative years on the farm equipped him with a vast range of practical skills, while the endless teasing he endured because of his flaming red hair shaped his streetwise, often-controversial approach to the monastic life.

As a youth under siege, he retaliated by building up his strength, and this refusal to be beaten by any circumstances was later reflected in his motto at Mariannhill: Sic currite, ut comprehendatis – So run, so that ye may obtain (the prize). [1 Corinthians 9:24]

Pfanner was a controversial figure right from the start. For those long associated with Mariannhill, it's clear that this 'town' is synonymous with Pfanner, and that his single-mindedness – usually against the flow of austere Trappist thought – was the driving force behind its success.

(Left: Initially the monastery extended over a vast area – literally as far as the eye could see from where Francis Pfanner stood when he made the purchase. But today, much of the land has been sold or appropriated).

At age 38, Pfanner – then Father Francis – entered the Trappist monastery at Mariawald in Germany. Later, he moved to Turkish Bosnia, where he built and nurtured the magnificent Mariastern Monastery. Then, just as Mariastern was on the verge of being elevated to an abbey, a certain Bishop Ricard from South Africa asked the highest congregation of priors and abbots – the General Chapter – for a dozen, stout-hearted men for his mission at the Cape of Good Hope.

He believed the strict Benedictine ora et labora ethic (pray and work) equipped the monks well to teach the locals how to work efficiently. Prior Francis was the only person who agreed to go. The year was 1882.

(Left: Father Bernard Pagitfch, superior of the monastery).

Prior Francis chose 33 men to accompany him. It was an adventure which began disastrously in drought-stricken Port Elizabeth and nearly ended on the arid soil of Durban's Bluff before Prior Francis took matters into his own hands and set off to look at a farm in Pinetown. With his extensive farming experience, he tested the quality of the soil, examined the plants, rocks, rivers and trees, and only then bought the farm, Zeekoegat, from the Land Colonisation Company. This was to be Mary Ann Hill, or Mariannhill.

'All monastries should be built to the glory of the Mother of God, and St Ann was a grandmother who should be greatly honoured,' declared Prior Francis. He added Hill because the monastery was destined to stand on this elevated site.

(Left: Crosses crafted in the carpentry workshop).

His advance party left the Bluff and travelled to Pinetown by rail, then ox wagons. A herd boy guided the leading oxen and, alongside the big sycamore tree, Prior Francis gave the order to turn left on to the high ground. The oxen turned right and stuck fast in marshy ground. Prior Francis took it as a sign. 'Unload. We'll stay here. This is where we'll build our monastery. It is God's will.'

The monks hung a few pieces of tarpaulin over the ox-wagons, and created the first camp on the monastery site. Within days, a wagonload of timber and horse blankets arrived and soon the sleeping quarters, kitchen and tailor's shop were ready. Later, the tarpaulin was replaced by a 25m long, corrugated-iron monastery.

Within three weeks of the monks' arrival, the first leaflets came off the primitive hand press. Later, UmAFRIKA newspaper was started and a cluster of workshops and facilities was established where the missionaries pioneered the training of the local people in printing, bookbinding, shoemaking, brick-making, skin-tanning, blacksmithing, carpentry, tailoring and practical farming.

(Left: Brother Hermann repairs an old incense burner).

Mariannhill grew rapidly in the first three years, and by 1885 was declared an Abbey with Pfanner its first abbot. Bricks were made on site from clay sourced from a dam on the property. The monks had made 76ha of waste land arable, and the buildings covered an area of 400m².

A carpenter-turned-architect-and-engineer, Brother Nivard Streicher, was responsible for many of the magnificent buildings, from the Monastery cloisters and campanile, to the Sacred Heart Chapel on the original 'Hill', to numerous elegant buildings that made up Mariannhill's outlying 'daughter' mission stations.But Trappists are not missionaries, and when it came to the 'daughter' stations in particular, the conflict between the strict Trappist monastic life and Abbot Francis's passion for missionary work, would ultimately lead to his demise.

Never content to restrict his missionary zeal to Mariannhill, he bought land and created thriving, largely self-sufficient mission stations.

(Left: Petrus Mthetwa and Brother Albert Brazier in the carpentry warehouse).

Mariannhill was intimately involved with the surrounding black communities, and this 'Valley of the Monks' vigorously pursued the concept of people working for 'better fields, better homes and better hearts'. Mariannhill was to have a profound influence on the lives of the black communities living nearby and beyond.

Gradually, more and more children were drawn to Mariannhill, and that led to the establishment of one of its finest achievements: the multiracial St Francis College and boarding school for boys. Here, untold numbers of black students received a superior education, including eminent icons such as black consciousness leader Steve Biko and Wits University's first black professor, Dr Benedict Vilakazi.

Girls, too, came to the new Mission, and in 1885, five lay women arrived from Europe to assist in the education of black women. They laid the foundation for the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, and a convent was built for them. Later additions included St Mary's Hospital and training centre, St Vincent's Children's Home, Tre Fontane Guest House and a Retreat House.

Ten years after his arrival, Abbot Francis's missionary activities caused him to be suspended from the Trappist order at within 14 years, the Pope decreed that Mariannhill be detached from the Trappists and become an active Missionary institute – the Congregation of the Mariannhill Missionaries.

(Left and below: There are 20 babies born each day at St Anne's Hospital and the adjoining clinic is a haven for the local community).

In 1922 most of the property owned by the Trappists was taken over by the diocese. Today, Mariannhill comprises three independent institutions: the diocese (and bishop) which owns the cathedral, St Francis College, the girls' primary schools and the bishop's house; the sisters, who own the hospital, convent and the children's home; and the monks, who own the monastery, their old age home, the gatehouse and the workshops.

Several of these workshops still produce quality products for the resident community (and commercially), and Mariannhill has a reputation for candle-making, metal work, carpentry and magnificently embroidered liturgical vestments.

Driving down the road and slipping under the monastery arch, there's a true sense of 'other-worldliness' at Mariannhill; of time standing still, a stone's throw from the brash commercialism just over the N3. Here, there are two layers: one strangely quiet and watchful, the other comprising laughing schoolchildren; glimpses of a nun's habit as she sows or reaps in the ploughed fields; and the intermittent whine of a lathe at work. It may be 125 years or so since the first ox-wagon arrived here at Zeekoegat Farm, but the ora et labora ethic feels so alive and well.

PLACES OF INTEREST

The Monastery church and campanile

St Joseph's Cathedral

The Museum

St Mary's Hospital – 300 beds, maternity section, operating theatre, out-patient's clinic and nurses training centre

St Vincent Children's Home