When the pilgrims are tired, they can seat by the fount of the holy water where there is the Virgin Mary, the Pietà, holding her Son, the Martyr of the Father. She is still showing them, and all of us, Jesus the giver of Life.
The Revival of Maria Ratschitz:
With no priest residing at Maria Ratschitz, the uninhabited old Trappist buildings turned slowly into ruins. The church also greatly deteriorated. In 1996 a large and anonymous donation from Germany was received for the express purpose of restoring the church of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. The Diocese immediately commenced work on the restoration of the church and the Monastry. Architects, engineers, contractors, artists, restorers, religious brothers and other people of good will from South Africa and from overseas were means in the hand of God to complete the material structures of the mission. On the 20th August 2000, the Jubilee Year, a Solemn Service of Rededication was held at Maria Ratschitz.
Spiritual Spring at Maria Ratschitz:
At the beginning of 1998, the first three Franciscan Nardini Sisters arrived at Maria Ratschitz. In August of the same year, also a priest moved in. Visiting the Families encouraging people for meetings, prayers, celebrations, Christian education and other activities were signs of a spiritual restarting. People from the nearer village, especially youth, came to celebrate the new-year eve (1999) with a special night vigil in the building church that it was still occupied by scaffoldings. Then on Easter Monday (5th April 1999) the same people was climbing the mountain, and on top of Hlatikhulu, the old cross of the Trappists was raised up again; the celebration of the Eucharist on that high place was a kind of mandate for the new evangelization.
Now Maria Ratschitz Mission got his Parish Priest caring for his flock. The sisters have set up a care centre and Hospice. They train care-givers for home-based care-giving and run the education programs in order to face positively and even to stop the HIV/AIDS.
New Start:
In 1910's the Trappists were in dispute with the Cistercian Order which had not been founded for the purpose of doing missionary work. So the monks decided to found their own missionary institute which became the Missionary Institute of Marianhill. Meanwhile the Mission was flourishing and became the Mother Church of Northern Natal.
Other Milestones of Maria Ratschitz Mission:
* In 1921 Maria Ratschitz Mission was transferred to the Oblate Vicariate of Natal.
* In 1939 with the outbreak of World War II, the German monks had to leave the mission and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate took over. Since this time the work in the farm and the training skills started to decline, because of the absence of religious brothers.
* The Franciscans took over in 1959, while the Church and Mission was recognized as the Spiritual Home of what had become the Prefecture Apostolic of Volksrust (the present Diocese of Dundee).
* Fr. Pacificus Tait, the Parish Priest, pushed for Maria Ratschitz to become an Official Place of Pilgrimage for the Prefecture.
* In 1968 the forced government removals took place. Many people of the mission area were removed to Limehill and Vergelegen, in spite of great efforts by the priests at the mission to prevent this happening. The depleted number of people occasioned by the removals, coupled with the decline in the number of priests in the diocese, meant that it was difficult to justify keeping Maria Ratschitz open as a mission station. Since 1991 the Ratschitz was served as an out- station of Amakhasi Mission.
