Concert to celebrate Cardinal’s 75th birthday
A free celebratory concert will be held at Emanuel Cathedral in celebration of Cardinal Wilfrid Napier’s 75th birthday on Friday morning, 11 March at 11am.
IN celebration of Cardinal Wilfrid Napier’s 75th birthday on Tuesday, 8 March, a free concert will be held at Emanuel Cathedral on Friday morning, 11 March at 11am, featuring nine Catholic primary school choirs.
After several successful Senior Schools Catholic Choirs Concerts, the Denis Hurley Centre will host a Junior Schools Catholic Choirs Concert for the first time. Among those performing will be the signing choir from Kwa Thintwa School for the Deaf (which was founded by Denis Hurley himself).
Kurt Holmes, director of music at St Augustine's, is co-ordinating the event with the participation of up to nine Catholic junior schools from the Durban area.
“Each school will present their own pieces plus there will some works sung (and in the case of Kwa Thintwa School, signed) jointly by all the choirs. For many of the young people this will be their first experience of being in the Cathedral so we hope that we will have a good audience present to encourage them,” said Raymond Perrier, director at the Denis Hurley Centre.
“Since the Cardinal will have celebrated his 75th birthday, part of the concert will be a chance for hundreds of young people from Catholic schools to sing 'Happy Birthday' to him and share an enormous cake,” added Perrier.
Did you know…
Cardinal Napier was born in Matatiele in the Swartberg on, 8 March 1941. His father was a farmer in the area. He attended Holy Cross School and later Little Flower High
School in Ixopo. After matriculating, he went to Ireland to follow his vocation and studied at the Franciscan Novitiate in Killarney. From there he completed his BA in Galway before moving to the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium, graduating with a Masters in Theology.
Wilfrid Napier was ordained priest in Kokstad on 25 July 1970. He was parish priest at Lusikisiki and the Tabankulu before being ordained Bishop of Kokstad in February 1981 by Archbishop Denis Hurley. He worked closely with Hurley on the Catholic Bishops Conference for many years, first as vice president and then as president. He was present at the signing of the Peace Accord in 1991 and was actively involved in discussions with both church and political leaders during the apartheid era. In June 1992 he was appointed Bishop of Durban, the position he still holds.
In February 2001 he was appointed Cardinal by Pope Saint John-Paul II. He has taken part in two conclaves, electing both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis and presently serves on the Council for Economy at the Vatican as well as the Synod on the family.
Cardinal Napier has received numerous awards including an honorary Doctorate from the University of Galway and the Living Legend award in Durban.
His work takes him all over the world and he speaks six languages fluently. However, he is happiest working among the people in parishes all over KZN. He has established many friends among the religious leaders in Durban working closely with Hindu, Muslim, Dutch Reformed, Anglican and Methodist ministers, particularly to assist the poor at the Hurley Centre in central Durban.The concert begins at 11am (after the 10am mass). Admission is free and all are welcome. There is safe parking in the Cathedral car park and under the Victoria Street market at the top of Denis Hurley (Queen) Street.
