'Faith and scholarship are powerful partners' says nun on graduation

Wearing the stark white habit of the Dominican Sisters of Montebello, Sister Lethiwe Francina Mazibuko strode across the stage of Durban’s Olive Convention Centre on Wednesday and collected a Master of Management Sciences degree in Public Administration from the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

The standing ovation that followed was not only for her academic achievement, but for the message she carried with it: faith and scholarship are powerful partners.  

The 55-year-old registrar of the St Joseph Theological Institute arrived from Ladysmith flanked by three novices she mentors, a deliberate show of solidarity that underlined her belief that “one cannot preach God’s word without empowering the mind.”  

Sister Mazibuko entered the convent straight after matric and is marking 35 years in religious life. Her parents, she recalls, were small-scale farmers without formal schooling, yet fiercely insistent that all seven of their children secure an education.

“We tried to honour their wishes,” she said, flipping through memories that include a brother who would become a medical doctor, a sister who trained as a nurse and another brother who teaches. Sister Mazibuko herself accumulated a diploma in Office Administration and a BA in Psychology before embarking on her master’s research at DUT in 2020, examining multicultural education as a tool for peace in schools.  

Her postgraduate journey unfolded in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic. While juggling convent duties, she watched family members battle the virus — including a brother who spent two months on a ventilator.

“I was under tremendous strain and sank into depression,” she admitted. “Only in 2023, after the sudden death of my nephew, did I find the resolve to complete my dissertation. I dedicated the work to his memory — he died the very day a job offer finally came through for him.”

Sister Mazibuko’s mother passed away in December, a fresh loss that tempered Wednesday’s celebrations. “I know she would have been proud, because she taught us to rely on our own sweat,” she said quietly.  

Among the cheering crowd was Sister Assampta Msiya, 25, a third-year Bachelor of Arts in Theology student inspired daily by Sister Mazibuko’s counsel. “Seeing her on that stage tells me my own dream is possible,” Sister Msiya said.

Sister Mazibuko’s influence extends far beyond the chapel. A registered counsellor with honours in psychology, she regularly offers trauma support in schools and parishes. Leadership roles in her congregation have taken her to Rome and across Africa, but the trip that marked her most was a visit to Rwanda. “I witnessed the lingering scars of genocide and came home determined never to squander South Africa’s opportunities,” she reflected.

The new graduate is already looking ahead to a PhD that will deepen her research into healing and reconciliation. “Studying is my way of serving God’s people,” she explained. Her family, once mystified by her decision to take the veil rather than a university scholarship after matric, now champion her vocation and her scholarship in equal measure.

Moments after leaving the stage, Sister Mazibuko turned to the novices who had accompanied her. “This degree is not mine alone,” she told them. “It is proof that every young woman — whether she feels called to marriage, to the convent or to any other path — can and must claim knowledge as her own.”