Stephen Brislin was born on 24 September 1956 in Welkom. He is of Scottish and Irish descent. He attended primary and secondary school there at the Convent of Saint Agnes and the Christian Brothers schools. He studied psychology at the University of Cape Town. He studied philosophy
at St. John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria and theology at the Missionary Institute of Mill Hill in London. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louvain. He was ordained a priest on 19 November 1983 for the Diocese of Kroonstad, South Africa.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Bishop of Kroonstad on 17 October 2006. He received his episcopal consecration on 28 January 2007 from Jabulani Adatus Nxumalo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Bloemfontein. Pope Benedict named Brislin Archbishop of Cape Town on 18 December 2009. He was installed on 7 February 2010 at the Bellville Velodrome.
He was president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference from 2013 to 2019. As conference president, he participated in the October 2014 Synod on the Family, where he was elected relator of one of its ten working groups, where his work was praised. He participated in the September 2015 session as well. In January 2018, Brislin visited the Gaza Strip as part of the annual Holy Land Coordination, an international effort of bishops in support of peace and communication.
On 9 July 2023, Pope Francis announced that he planned to make him a cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 30 September. At that consistory he was made cardinal priest of Santa Maria Domenica Mazzarello. According to ancient tradition it was the parish priests of the diocese of Rome who elected their bishop. This is why each cardinal is appointed titular parish priest of one of the ancient parishes of Rome, to maintain this tradition.
On 28 October, Pope Francis named Cardinal Brislin the Archbishop of Johannesburg. His date of installation is yet to be announced but this needs to be within two months of the day of announcement. Archbishop Buti continues as the Apostolic Administrator until the installation of the new bishop, and we continue to pray for him in the eucharistic prayer as our bishop. Archbishop Buti has been our bishop for 21 years, which is a lot of history. Any change brings with it both hope and fear, and so it is natural for us to both rejoice in our new bishop but also be sad at Archbishop Buti’s departure. The archbishop had just agreed to come and do confirmations here in February next year, and we hope that the Cardinal will be able to fit us into his schedule, which may be even busier than our current archbishop.
I have worked with him as his Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation since 2018, and am happy (relieved!) to say that we have had a good and supportive working relationship. The Archbishop knew his own mind, and what he wanted to do, and he worked hard at achieving his goals. We only need to look at the shrine to see that. As the leader of the country’s largest diocese he has wielded great influence on the local church, promoting initiatives that sought to recognise the voices of women, refugees and the youth. He had led his diocese through two Archdiocesan Synods and has just given the go ahead to launch planning for the third one, to be held in September of 2025.
On a more personal note, he ordained me to the diaconate and priesthood in 2007 and accepted me into the archdiocese when I expressed an interest in becoming a diocesan priest. That process of discernment started this year and will continue for the next three years. I am truly grateful for his kindness towards me and his support.
