The Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood and the Priests and Brothers of the Mariannhill Missionaries have dedicated their lives to assisting the people of South Africa, specifically in areas of education and health care.  Over the many years of this Mission’s history, several famous people have been associated with Mariannhill and have made a positive impact on both the surrounding communities and the country.

Mohandas Gandhi arrived and settled in Durban, South Africa in 1893 to practice law.   During his time in Durban he faced much discrimination and persecution.  These events however, formed many of his social activist philosophies, especially those of non-violent protesting[1].  Durban is not far from the Mariannhill Mission and in 1894 Gandhi visited the Trappist Monks.  Gandhi writes of his experience in Mariannhill:

Mariannhill is a quiet little model village, owned on the truest republican principles. The principle of liberty, equality and fraternity is carried out in its entirety. Every man is a brother, every woman a sister … They take no intoxicating liquors… none may keep money for private use. All are equally rich or poor. They believe in no colour discrimination. The blacks are accorded the same treatment as whites… all was quit; the silence was broken only by the noise of the instruments in the workshops or the African children.[2]

Gandhi went on to form the Natal Indian Congress to unite the Indian people of South Africa into a successful political force that fought against oppression.

Steven Bantu Biko was a political activist and based many of his philosophies on the principles of Black Consciousness.  He was one of the founding members of the Black Peoples Convention which sought to improve communities in the Durban area with positive social projects.  Due to Biko’s strong public influence in the anti-Apartheid movement he was ‘banned’ and restricted by the government.  He was detained by the police force in Durban and sent under the government ban to his home province of Eastern Cape and was brutally tortured.  Steven Biko died in Pretoria on September 12, 1977.  His death though would lead to an international response against the Apartheid government and an arms embargo imposed on South Africa by the UN.[3] 

Steven Biko spent Matric (final year of high school) at St Francis College in Mariannhill before going on to study medicine at the University of Natal Medical School.  He was Head Prefect of his graduating class and left his fellow graduates and staff at the school with the following words:

Mariannhill has been a source of great inspiration to us.  The history of the College shows that she has produced teachers by the thousands, doctors and lawyers galore, priests and many other distinguished figures.  Therefore may we not expect to swell this list one day also?…we have had the benefit of an all-round preparation for facing the world.  I could mention the Debating society, which has trained many of us in public speaking…No less important is character-moulding and training in self-knowledge.[4]

Steven Biko left an indelible mark on the history of South Africa.  Even today, many young people turn to Biko’s example of perseverance and pride in being African to make a difference in their own communities.

More recently, Mariannhill hosted Brad Pitt and welcomed him at St Mary’s Hospital (2005).  Pitt spent much time in the children’s ward, playing with the kids and also speaking with their mothers.  This trip was organized to bring awareness of the positive effects of the government’s roll out of antiretroviral treatment.[5]  Brad Pitt continues to advocate for the people of Africa and is involved in organizations that hope to bring relief and awareness to this region of the world.

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