Stephen Brislin

Stephen Brislin was born on 24 September 1956 in Welkom. He is of Scottish and Irish descent. He attended primary and secondary school there at the Convent of Saint Agnes and the Christian Brothers schools.{{cite press release | access-date = 9 July 2023 | publisher = Holy See Press Office | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/07/09/0503/01120.html | title = Annuncio di Concistoro il 30 settembre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali|date=9 July 2023 | language = it }} He studied psychology at the University of Cape Town. He studied philosophy at St. John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria and theology at the Missionary Institute of Mill Hill in London. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louvain. He was ordained a priest on 19 November 1983 for the Diocese of Kroonstad, South Africa.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Bishop of Kroonstad on 17 October 2006.{{cite press release | access-date = 10 July 2023 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2006/10/17/0514/01452.html | language = it | publisher = Holy See Press Office | date = 17 October 2006 | title = Rinunce e Nomine, 17.10.2006 }} He received his episcopal consecration on 28 January 2007 from Jabulani Adatus Nxumalo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Bloemfontein.https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbrislin.html Stephen Cardinal Brislin. Retrieved 1 October 2023.

Pope Benedict named Brislin Archbishop of Cape Town on 18 December 2009.{{cite press release | access-date = 10 July 2023 | url =https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2009/12/18/0797/01903.html | language = it | publisher = Holy See Press Office | date = 18 December 2009 | title = Rinunce e Nomine}} He was installed on 7 February 2010 at the Bellville Velodrome.{{cite magazine | magazine = The Southern Cross | url = https://www.scross.co.za/brislin/ | access-date = 9 July 2023 | title = INSTALLATION OF STEPHEN BRISLIN AS ARCHBISHOP OF CAPE TOWN }}

He was president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference from 2013 to 2019.{{cite web |title=Most Reverend Archbishop Stephen Brislin |url=https://adct.org.za/most-reverend-archbishop-stephen-brislin/ |website=Archdiocese of Cape Town |accessdate=9 July 2023 |date=30 October 2013 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920205722/http://adct.org.za/most-reverend-archbishop-stephen-brislin/ |url-status=dead }} As conference president, he participated in the October 2014 Synod on the Family, where he was elected relator of one of its ten working groups,{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | language = it | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2014/10/10/0746/03036.html | title = Synod14 - Elenco dei Moderatori e dei Relatori dei Gruppi (Circuli minores), 10.10.2014 | date = 10 October 2014 | access-date = 3 October 2023}} where his work was praised.{{cite interview | work = National Catholic Reporter | access-date = 3 October 2023 | date = 17 October 2014 | url = https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/kurtz-discussions-synod-doing-what-its-supposed-do | first = Joseph | last = Kurtz | interviewer = Joshua J. McElwee | title = Kurtz: With discussions, synod 'doing what it's supposed to do' }} He participated in the September 2015 session as well.{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | language = it | access-date = 3 October 2023 | date = 15 September 2015 | title = XIV Assemblea Generale Ordinaria del Sinodo dei Vescovi (4-25 ottobre 2015) - Elenco dei Partecipanti, 15.09.2015 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2015/09/15/0676/01469.html }}

In January 2018, Brislin visited the Gaza Strip as part of the annual Holy Land Coordination, an international effort of bishops in support of peace and communication.{{cite news | access-date = 3 October 2023 | url = https://www.ncronline.org/news/visiting-bishops-praise-gazans-say-christian-presence-shrinking | work = National Catholic Reporter | agency = Catholic News Agency | date = 16 January 2018 | first = Judith | last = Sudilovsky | title =Visiting bishops praise Gazans, but say Christian presence is shrinking }}

On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September.{{cite press release | access-date = 9 July 2023| publisher = Holy See Press Office | language = it | date= 9 July 2023 | title = Le parole del Papa alla recita dell'Angelus, 09.07.2023 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/07/09/0502/01116.html }} At that consistory he was made cardinal priest of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello.{{cite press release | access-date = 1 October 2023 | date = 30 September 2023 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/09/30/230930b.html | title = Assignation of Titles and Deaconries to the new Cardinals, 30.09.2023 | publisher = Holy See Press Office}}

On 4 October 2023, Pope Francis appointed Brislin a member of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.{{cite press release | access-date = 4 October 2023 | date = 4 October 2023 | url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/10/04/231004b.html | title = Appointment of members of the Dicastery of the Roman Curia and of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State | publisher = Holy See Press Office}}{{cite press release | access-date = 4 October 2023 | date = 4 October 2023 | url=https://www.causesanti.va/it/notizie/notizie-2023/nomina-di-membro-del-dicastero1.html | title = Appointment of Member of the Dicastery | publisher = Dicastery for the Causes of Saints}}

On 28 October 2024, Pope Francis appointed Brislin to serve as Cardinal Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg, succeeding Archbishop-Emeritus Buti Joseph Tlhagale.{{cite press release | access-date = 29 October 2024 | date = 28 October 2024 | url= https://www.aciafrica.org/news/12709/pope-francis-transfers-south-africas-newest-cardinal-from-cape-town-to-johannesburg-catholic-archdiocese | title = Pope Francis Transfers South Africa's Newest Cardinal from Cape Town to Johannesburg Catholic Archdiocese | publisher = Association for Catholic Information in Africa}}

Brislin is the Grand Prior of the Southern Africa Magistral Delegation of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/oessh/luogotenenze_en.html|title=The Lieutenancies of the World Lieutenants and Grand Priors|access-date=2025-06-03}} The Magistral Delegation was established in 2010.{{cite web|url=https://www.oessh.va/content/ordineequestresantosepolcro/en/nelle-luogotenenze/le-investiture/l_africa-e-l_ordine-del-santo-sepolcro--una-piccola-presenza-che.html|title=Africa and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre: a small presence that is growing|access-date=2025-06-03}}

Brislin participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 papal conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.{{cite web| url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html| title=Cardinal Electors|date=6 May 2025|publisher=Catholic-Hierarchy.org|language=en|access-date=6 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506193115/https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/scardc3.html|archive-date=6 May 2025|url-status=live}}

Brislin has taken a welcoming approach to homosexual people in the Church, stating in a 2017 interview that the Church "should be home for gay people", and some homosexuals in parishes are "very good Catholics" trying to live good lives.{{cite news|title=South African Archbishop Says Church “Should Be Home for Gay People”|url=https://www.newwaysministry.org/2017/12/09/south-african-archbishop-says-church-home-gay-people/|access-date=6 May 2024|agency=New Ways Ministry|date=9 December 2017}} He supports Pope Francis' 2023 declaration Fiducia supplicans, which allows Catholic priests to bless unmarried and same-sex couples, noting that the declaration does not condone homosexuality.{{cite web|url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/stephen-brislin/|title=Cardinal Stephen Brislin|year=2025|work=College of Cardinals Report|access-date=6 May 2025}}

In 2014, while Archbishop, Brislin reaffirmed the Church's stance on female ordination, stating that "It is...contrary to the spirit of the Catholic Church to be involved in the promotion of the ordination of women to the priestly ministry."{{cite news|title=Bishops reaffirm that the ordination of women to the priesthood is not recognised in the Catholic Church|url=https://www.fides.org/en/news/36857-AFRICA_SOUTH_AFRICA_Bishops_reaffirm_that_the_ordination_of_women_to_the_priesthood_is_not_recognised_in_the_Catholic_Church|access-date=6 May 2024|agency=Agenzia Fides|date=28 November 2014}} However, Brislin appears to have softened his stance since, and in the 2022 archdiocesan synthesis report stated "We need to promote the dignity of women and explore, at the very least, the possibility of the female diaconate."{{cite web|url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/stephen-brislin/|title=Cardinal Stephen Brislin|year=2025|work=College of Cardinals Report|access-date=6 May 2025}}

Brislin has spoken out in favor of efforts to reduce global warming, expressing that "Climate change is a threat that we all face and we all should be working together to mitigate it.”{{cite web|url=https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/stephen-brislin/|title=Cardinal Stephen Brislin|year=2025|work=College of Cardinals Report|access-date=6 May 2025}}

Kroonstad-brislin.png|Coat of Arms of Bishop Stephen Brislin (2007-2009)

Old Coat of Arms of Stephen Brislin.png|Coat of Arms of Archbishop Stephen Brislin (2009-2023)

Coat of arms of Stephen Brislin.svg|Coat of Arms of Stephen Cardinal Brislin (2023–present)

The Arms of Bishop Brislin are hard to blazon accurately. The charges chosen recall aspects of the Bishops personal history. For example his origins are recalled in the thistle and shamrock, evoking Scotland and Ireland, from where his parents hailed. The 'crown of Kroonstad' is the Basotho hat and it is in honour point representing the Basotho people he ministered to most during his priesthood. The chief charge however is the cross, which is empty signifying the importance of Christ's resurrection and it is rooted in a verdant pasture showing how life flows from the Cross. This life is in contrast to the barren and arid brown skyline that represents the lifelessness that awaits those away from the hope that the Cross provides. Behind the Cross, and illuminating it, is the rising sun, symbolising the Resurrection and the promise of eternal life. The people approaching the Cross are also near the fruit that flows to those who root themselves in the Cross. The Acacia tree, maize and wheat are the common signs of life and fruit of labour in the Free State.[https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Stephen_Brislin Heraldry of the World - Stephen Brislin]

On his appointment as archbishop and move from Kroonstad to Cape Town, there were not many changes in the Arms, aside from the predictable increase in the number of tassels, representing the change in rank from Bishop to Archbishop. Archbishop Brislin did however introduce an additional charge in his Arms when he arrived in Cape Town, namely including a bunch of Grapes that he placed in the center base of the shield. This addition represents the fruitfulness of the Western Cape - a well-known and popular location for vineyards - and deepens the allusion in his previous Arms. The vineyard is mentioned in the Bible and the grapes, the fruit of the vine, also recall the words in the Liturgy of the Eucharist at the time of the preparation of the gifts, thus completing and deepening the earlier allusion of the fruitfulness of Christ by linking it to His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

On being appointed to the College of Cardinals, Archbishop Brislin prepared a new Coat of Arms that are more heraldically correct. They can be blazoned as:

"Gules a pall and endorse argent; in dexter flank a mullet of 5 points, and in sinister flank an anchor, both argent, and in honour point a Basotho hat (mokorotlo) Gules."

The red of the shield (along with the galero and tassels proper to Cardinals) recalls the Cardinals' duty to shed blood in defense of the Catholic faith. The Cross, so prominent in his earlier Arms is still present in his new Arms for those with 'eyes to see', through the use of a Pall, that whilst recalling the pallium of a Metropolitan Archbishop, also resembles the upraised shape of a Cross that welcomes all and symbolises salvation. The cross is also present in the choice of one of the other charges, namely the mullet on the dexter side. This five-pointed star recalls the five points of the astronomical constellation Crux, popularly known as the Southern Cross which marks the location of the Archbishop's Archdiocse in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the charges also evoke a concern of Pope Francis, namely the plight of migrants and refugees and those persons who are on the move. Cape Town is home to the Cape of Good Hope, and the anchor represents this hope and naval tradition. The many workers on board the ships that dock daily in Cape Town are able to find a home in the Church and in the Archdiocese. And the hope that the Cape represents is one that is found when one anchors one's life in the firm foundation of faith.

Alongside the anchor, is the star, which recalls the archdiocese's Patroness, Our Lady Flight into Egypt, as well as bearing allusions to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Whilst the latter links itself to the naval allusions of the Anchor, the former speaks to the fact that even the Holy Family had experiences of being a refugee as they sought refuge in a foreign land.

The third charge also links to the theme of migrants, as the people to whom the Cardinal ministered to in his early priesthood and time as bishop were the Basotho, who were migrants in Kroonstad from Lesotho. The Basotho hat is in honour point representing the concern that the Cardinal has in never forgetting his roots and where he came from in Welkom - a town that in English translation means 'Welcome' and is the attitude of hospitality Catholicism, and in particular Pope Francis, has called the Church to embody, welcoming the stranger.

The other elements of the coat of arms are the standard signs of rank of a metropolitan archbishop and a cardinal. The archiepiscopal cross also has five red marks, that could be interpreted as referring again to the Cross through the five wounds of Christ borne on that Cross.

The Cardinal’s motto “Veritas in Caritate” (Truth in Charity) taken from Ephesians 4:15, is also a homage to Pope Benedict XVI who originally appointed him to the episcopate and whose third Encyclical bears a similar name "Caritas in Veritate", and has remained a constant in his Arms since 2007.[https://adct.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ad-news-3-of-2023.pdf Archdiocesan News, Issue 109, July-September 2023]

The practice of including a Metropolitan's Pallium underneath the Arms is another sign of following the traditional practice of ecclesiastic heraldry.

Brislin was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Pastoral Leadership by the Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas, USA, on 5 May 2023.[https://adct.org.za/archbishops-address-to-the-oblate-school-of-theology/ Archbishop’s Address to the Oblate School of Theology] accessed June 2023

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• Cardinals created by Francis

{{Reflist}}

;Additional sources

• {{cite interview | first = Stephen | last = Brislin | date = 14 October 2014| publisher = Vatican Radio | title = Archb. Brislin: Synod finding new ways to help families | url = http://www.archivioradiovaticana.va/storico/2014/10/14/archb_brislin_synod_finding_new_ways_to_help_families/en-1108560 }}
• {{cite news | work = National Catholic Reporter | date = 11 January 2016 | first = Judith | last = Sudilovsky | agency = Catholic News Service | url = https://www.ncronline.org/us-bishop-says-palestinians-cremisan-valley-have-lost-hope | title = U.S. bishop says Palestinians in Cremisan Valley 'have lost hope' }}

• [https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_brislin_s.html Brislin Card. Stephen]. Holy See Press Office. [https://web.archive.org/web/20231002211140/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_brislin_s.html Archived] from the original on 2 October 2023
• {{cite web | website = Catholic Hierarchy | url = https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbrislin.html | title =Stephen Cardinal Brislin }}

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Category:21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in South Africa

Category:South African Roman Catholic archbishops

Category:1956 births

Category:Living people

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Category:Bishops in the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Bloemfontein

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Category:People from Welkom

Category:South African people of Irish descent

Category:South African people of Scottish descent

Category:Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI

Category:Cardinals created by Pope Francis

Category:South African cardinals

Category:21st-century cardinals

Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Johannesburg

Category:Grand Priors of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

Category:Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre