A history of the Cathedral Parish of Witbank continued

3. 1904 -The arrival of First Catholic settlers in Witbank

The first Catholic family to arrive in Witbank was the Barry family who settled here on Christmas eve ,1904. They did not see a Catholic priest until 1906 when Father Kempf,a German Oblate,was sent from Pretoria at the instance of Mr Barry to baptise a baby daughter.Mr J McKenna was also in Witbank at the time and eventually his family also arrived from England. Fr Kempf was appointed as travelling priest and he paid irregular visits at intervals of six to nine months to Witbank.His visits continued until 1912. He used to conduct his services in the Barry sittingroom,until the congregation - always a floating one - warrented arrangements being made for services to be held at the Carlton Hotel,then situated in Church Street,as the Main Street of Witbank was known. The proprietor, Mr Hamilton- Kerr,an Irish -Australian,offered the priest a large room in the hotel. When Fr Kempf was appointed Parish Priest of the new parish of Benoni, Fr Urquhart took over,but he paid only one visit to Witbank.

In 1913 Fr Louis Peron OMI became the next travelling priest. There was a strong force of determination in him and he earned the respect and confidence of all he came into contact with, despite language barriers as he could hardly speak any English or Afrikaans. On his arrival Miss May Barry was deputised to introduce him to the few scattered families and they providentially met Mr Robert Carruthers, a Liverpool Irishman,and principal of the school. He offered Fr Peron the use of a classroom. At that time,the school was the biggest and only decent building in Witbank.The old Witbank Colliery houses at the back of the old hospital looked onto the sports grounds of the village. Such was the Witbank Fr Peron found. A certain benevolent Jewish lady, Mrs Katz, also offered the visiting priest hospitality in her home and Mass was also said in the Masonic Hall. Father Peron always arrived on Saturday afternoon and left on Monday midday by train. Within the first month of his arrival,he surprised everyone by coming back and arranging that Mass would be said on certain specific dates.

In 1914, a Belgian,Fr de Hover, OMI, replaced Fr Peron. He spoke a little more English and was a skillful musician. He disliked the rough mining atmosphere of Witbank but continued irregular visits until 1915,when,as so many priests had enlisted as Army Chaplains,he could not be spared and his visits ceased altogether.

May Barry was sent to the Dominican Academy at Newcastle and in 1918 Father Creagh CSSR, rector of the new Redemptorist Monastery in Pretoria, arrived at the Academy to hold a retreat. She told him that Witbank had not seen a priest for a long time. After enquiring where Witbank was, Fr Creagh was instrumental in Fr Leo Kirk, an English Redemptorist,visiting Witbank some two months later.

What happened next?