INSTALLATION ADDRESS
Archbishop Sithembele Sipuka
Archbishop of Cape Town
March 14, 2026
Your Excellency, Archbishop Piotr Jagodziński, Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa,
Your Eminences, Cardinals Napier and Brislin,
My Brother Bishops, especially Bishop Sylvester David,
Distinguished Ecumenical Leaders and Leaders of Other Faith Traditions,
Honourable Government ministers and his worship the Mayor,
Dear Priests, Religious, and Lay Faithful,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
GRATITUDE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Since my appointment announcement, the Archdiocese of Cape Town has prepared for this installation with remarkable expertise and professionalism. What we see today is the result of tremendous hard work by teams of clergy and laity, and we all agree they have done a great job. For today, let it suffice to say: thank you, Archdiocese of Cape Town. When our visitors depart, I will thank you at greater length. Today, let us honour others who made this day possible.
To the Holy Father and the Nuncio
If Pope Leo XIV had not appointed me, this day would not be taking place. My first thanks go to Pope Leo XIV, who set this day of joy in motion. I ask Your Excellency, Archbishop Jagodziński, to convey our profound gratitude to the Holy Father for returning the Church of Cape Town to having a pastor and for choosing me. Thank you also, Your Excellency, for your guidance and presence today.
To Cardinal Brislin
Cardinal Brislin, if you had refused Johannesburg, I would still be happy in Mthatha! Thank you for leaving, but thank you more for what I perceive as a fully alive and functional Archdiocese.
I am staying in the house you stayed in. Given your oversized feet, if I find your shoes there, I will courier them to you—they will be of no use to me! But with God’s grace, I will try to fill your shoes metaphorically. This is not the first time I’ve succeeded you. First was as SACBC President, and it worked. As I succeed you a second time, I pray that what you built will not only be maintained but made to flourish even more abundantly.
To Bishop Sylvester David
Bishop Sylvester has been the man on the ground since Cardinal Brislin left, doing work normally shared by two bishops. Sylvester, you deserve a holiday! Thank you for holding the fort, and I look forward to working closely with you.
To the Cardinals and Brother Bishops
It is an honour to have two Cardinals at one’s installation, especially Cardinal Napier, who has been through thick and thin of the Church in South Africa. Thank you, Your Eminence, for your decades of faithful service and your presence today.
I am not here because the Pope likes me. I am here because of your recommendation that I can fulfil this task. I appreciate your confidence.
I thank my brother bishops present in such numbers, including retired bishops from whom I have learnt a lot. I want to mention Archbishop Jabulani Nxumalo, who translated the Pope’s letter from Latin. I thank brother bishops from other countries in the continent and from beyond the seas. Thank you for being present today.
To Ecumenical and Interfaith Leaders
My confidence is boosted by ecumenical Church leaders of the South African Council of Churches, who showered me with good wishes and are present today. Thank you for your love and support. I note, in particular, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Thabo Makgoba, from whom I have taken over ecumenical leadership roles twice before. It feels good to join you as a fellow Archbishop of Cape Town. I have received warm and reassuring messages from the Muslim leadership and look forward to living and working with other religions in the Western Cape and beyond for the common good.
To Civil and Political Leaders
When President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote congratulations, I shivered! I asked Cardinal Brislin, ‘What have I got myself into?’ I thank the President and other civil leaders who wrote to me personally, including the MEC for Health present here, and, by extension, the Premier of the Western Cape and the Mayor, who will honour us with a message at this event. Your presence, ministers and mayor, underlines our common purpose of working for the common good. I thank the business leaders present here, whose partnership with the Church is helping to improve the lives of many.
To Friends from Abroad and the People
Friends who have travelled from other countries. Your presence is appreciated. This arena is mainly filled by people from Cape Town. Thank you for your welcome and for receiving me. holds. It is also filled with people from across our country, from almost all provinces. Thank you for taking the time and spending money to be here today.
To the People of Mthatha
I acknowledge, in particular, the people of the Mthatha Diocese, with whom I worked for 18 years. In his letter of appointment, the Pope noted how well I worked in Mthatha, which motivated this appointment. In a real sense, Mthatha made me fit to be an archbishop.
To the People of Queenstown
However, the people of Queenstown first made me as a priest. I thank them with deep gratitude.
To My Family
I could become a priest because of a family that nurtured me through apartheid’s difficult times. To my family, I am profoundly grateful.
To God
Ultimately, all thanks are due to God, the source of our being and support of our lives. To Him be glory and honour, now and forever. Amen.
APPROACHING MY NEW MINISTRY
While I come as a bishop, I am aware this is a new place, different from where I come from. So, I am open to learning. I have come to serve you, people of Cape Town, and so I will adapt to you rather than you adapting to me. Coming from the Eastern Cape, I come wanting to understand you, people of the Western Cape.
Alhoewel ek Afrikaans tot in Matriek gestudeer het, het ek nie die geleentheid gehad om dit te praat nie, want mense in die Ooste praat nie baie Afrikaans nie, maar dit is my voorneme om dit te leer, want ek is nou een van julle.
At the same time, I am not coming here raw as when I first arrived in Mthatha. I have been a bishop for many years; andiyomfunda makhwela, kudala ndisedyokhweni, (I am not a novice) and so I will have something to contribute. Let us learn from each other as we walk together.
THE PROPHETIC VOCATION OF THE CHURCH
Gratitude for God’s Providence
I assume this role of Archbishop, aware of problems characterising our country: poverty, huge economic inequality, gender-based violence and femicide, crime, corruption, family displacement and lack of social cohesion. These challenges lead many to despair and cynicism. I encourage us to remain hopeful because we are people of faith in a God who will never abandon us.
What we must also consider as a reason to be hopeful about this country is the freedom of speech, which enables us to be prophetic. God continues raising prophets in the form of civic organisations, trade unions, journalists, church leaders, activists, commissions, the judiciary, courageous individuals, analysts, business people, intellectuals, and the electorate who gave a mandate for a government of national unity, ensuring that parties are prophetic to each other. All these forms of prophecy give hope that whatever is not going right will be fixed. Our country is prophetic from all sectors, and that makes me hopeful. All will be well if everybody plays their prophetic role, singathuli izinto zisonakala! (don’t keep quiet while things get spoilt).
I propose that we examine our conscience on two fronts. First, the question of wealth and poverty. We see obscene wealth among a few in a sea of poverty—wealth that does nothing or little to lift others from dehumanising conditions. But let us be honest: we all have means at varying levels. No one can say, “I have nothing.” I invite each of us to ask ourselves: “Is there anything I am doing to uplift others? Is what I have proportionate to what I give? Am I offering mere tokens to appease my conscience, or am I sharing meaningfully in ways that make a real difference?” Instead of flaunting our wealth, let us use it to uplift each other, because as Jesus says, “Freely you have received; freely give.” And he adds, “The measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
The second front is crime. Presently, in this province, we are living under the watch of soldiers because of crime. We must be prophetic against crime in all its manifestations. This means not buying stolen goods, even when they are cheap. It means disowning those who commit a crime, even when it costs us personally, as it has cost some whistle-blowers. It means condemning vandalism of infrastructure, because what we destroy—schools, clinics, trains, buildings—serves the common good. This infrastructure does not belong to some distant government; it belongs to us, and when we destroy it, we destroy our own future.
UNITED AND SENT: A VISION FOR CAPE TOWN
Reading the Signs of the Times
When I was appointed here, I asked what contribution I would make. I tried to read the prevailing signs of the times. One glaring sign is humanity’s inclination to dissipate rather than unite.
Contrary to much historical evidence, humanity has been at its worst when disunited and at its best when united. Yet we see, globally and locally, that we are drifting apart. When people unite, they often do so against others, leading to devastating wars and instability. This dissipation is evident in our country.
The Dissipation of the Mandela Spirit
There was once a time of promise—when, under Nelson Mandela and the freedom generation, there was a spirit of mutual embrace that found expression in Mandela wearing the Springbok No. 6 jersey and in many other expressions of a uniting nation, rewarded by signs of a growing economy. Unfortunately, that spirit is dissipating. Old wounds are reopening. New resentments are festering. The social fabric is fraying.
Signs of God’s Call to Unity
In this context of dissipation, I realised that, in the recent past—last year, in fact —both here at home and at the Vatican, I have been appointed to tasks that serve unity. Then came synodality as a way of being Church, which struck a chord in me.
And so when I was appointed Archbishop at the beginning of this year, in the context of evident disunity in humanity at global and local levels, the positions to which I have been appointed that serve unity, and the revival of synodality with themes of listening, communion, and mission—I sensed God is calling me to contribute towards unity of humanity, harmony among religions, unity among Christians, and communion among Catholics.
That is why you see that motto in the booklet: UNITED AND SENT.
A Commitment Without a Blueprint
I do not pretend to have a blueprint for achieving this unity. I do not claim to have all the answers about which aspects we should work on or how. But I have a commitment—to align myself with ideals and efforts already underway in Cape Town toward unity that translate into everyone feeling loved, listened to, accepted, given space to participate and contribute, and living in dignity with their potentials developed.
The Unfinished Work of Unity
One thing I note about unity: we have tended to think it will happen on its own. We have mostly put people together physically—same schools, churches, universities, workplaces, neighbourhoods—and hoped unity would emerge automatically with legal change. We have changed the rules without transforming hearts. We have integrated bodies without facilitating a genuine encounter. We have not adequately addressed deeply embedded perceptions, attitudes, fears, resentments, and the effects of division that have endured for hundreds of years.
As a result, we are managed by the dynamics of division from the past rather than by us. There are some Scholars, practitioners and organisations who have done important work on this. I hope that we can be inspired by such efforts to be intentional in addressing what unconsciously drives us, and that the synodality methodology of listening and speaking truth in charity will help us do the hard work that genuine unity requires.
CONCLUSION
Let me conclude by returning to where I began. Gratitude to God, who calls and equips us. Gratitude to you, people of God in Cape Town, who have welcomed me warmly. Gratitude to all who journeyed to be present on this sacred day. In the context of the challenges facing us as a country and as a church, let us remain hopeful because our prophetic character will ensure this country does not go down the drain.
This vision of unity calls us to be prophetic, to speak truth to power while serving with humility. It calls us to be synodal—to listen deeply, especially to marginalised voices. It calls us to be missionaries, to adapt ourselves to those we serve rather than expecting them to adapt to us.
Let us walk this journey together. Let us do the hard work of genuine unity. Let us learn from each other. Let us be united in love and sent on a mission.
May the Lord bless our Archdiocese. May the Lord bless our country. May the Lord bless all who seek to build His Kingdom of justice, peace, and love.