CARDINAL OWEN MCCANN - Catholicism, Apartheid and Diplomacy in South Africa

by Alexandra MacLennan

Drawing on newly opened Vatican archives and Owen McCann's personal archives in Cape Town, Alexandra MacLennan offers the first full biography of Cardinal Owen McCann (1907-1994), a pivotal yet often overlooked figure in twentieth century South African history.  Born into a working-class neighbourhood of Cape Town and educated by Irish religious orders, McCann rose to become South Africa's first cardinal and a key moral voice during the long years of apartheid.

MacLennan traces how McCann's formation in Catholic social teaching shaped his quiet but persistent engagement with South Africa's racial crisis.  As bishop, he lobbied against apartheid laws, used the official Catholic newspaper The Southern Cross to challenge segregation, and defended non-European communities affected by discriminatory legislation.  At the same time, the newly revealed Vatican diplomatic correspondence reveals how the Holy See responded to apartheid and what instructions they gave to the Apostolic Delegate, complicating assumptions about Catholic silence or complicity.

Notre Dame Press 2026                   527 pages