Leo XIV Appoints Bishop in South Africa — Presents Himself in Traditional Animal-Skin Attire
Since 2021, he has served as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Pretoria.
Background and Formation
Born on 5 March 1978 in Winterveld, within the Archdiocese of Pretoria, he was ordained a priest on 3 June 2007.
Over the years, he has held various pastoral and administrative roles, including parish priest in several communities, administrator of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pretoria and chancellor of the archdiocese. He has also served as spiritual director and lecturer at St John Vianney Seminary.
Public Presence Disguised in Civil Clothes
Monsignor Masemola has maintained a Facebook account for many years. Many of his photographs — despite his role as Vicar General — show him in civil clothing (below).
One of his profile pictures, which he reused repeatedly up to 2024, shows him wearing traditional Southern African cultural attire outside of church contexts. He is wearing a hat with a feather decoration, holding a wooden staff associated with ceremonial or cultural symbolism, and a chest piece made of animal skin.
In the Sotho–Tswana cultural environment, this ceremonial attire such as the animal-skin chest panels and the wooden staff symbolizes adult manhood, dignity, leadership, and pride in one’s ancestral lineage.
#newsWwworyznoy