Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.

Date: 25 Feb 1965
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.

Roman Catholic Church Archbishop of Cape Town, Owen McCann, an enemy of Apartheid, became South Africa's first Cardinal when he was invested by Pope Paul VI in St Peter's Basilica. Early in Cardinal McCann's tenure as Archbishop, the South African Catholic Church began campaigning against Apartheid. In 1976, in an open letter to the Government, he made a particularly strong attack on its racial segregation policy and related matters. His attack came at the height of anti-Government rioting in Black communities. "We see these upheavals as the result of a burning sense of injustice among those who are deprived of so many rights. Depriving a person of his rights as a human being is a kind of violence,” he stated. In 1988 Cardinal McCann accompanied the Pope on his visit to five African nations, but not including South Africa. During the journey, Pope John Paul II also voiced strong criticism of Apartheid.

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01Pace, E., (1994), ‘Cardinal McCann, 86; Ex-Prelate in Cape Town’, from New York Times, 04 April, [online], Available at www.nytimes.com [Accessed: 02 February 2012]
02O’Malley, P., ‘1965’, from Nelson Mandela Foundation, [online], Available at www.nelsonmandela.org [Accessed: 02 February 2012]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

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South African History Online. (2012, February 24). Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0074542

South African History Online (2012) 'Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.', South African History Online, 24 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0074542 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal. [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0074542, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.." South African History Online, 24 Feb. 2012, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0074542. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Archbishop Owen Cardinal McCann becomes South Africa’s first cardinal.." South African History Online. February 24, 2012. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0074542.