Fr Martin Badenhorst, OP

The arrival of Fr Martin Badenhorst, OP, to head the Department of Theology at St. Augustine College in Johannesburg, South Africa, has understandably been met with great enthusiasm - for this is a man who, like Joseph, wears a multi-coloured dream coat.

Fr Badenhorst’s passions are as diverse as the man himself. While he has thrown himself into living the dream of his calling – spreading the Word of God – his many talents include computer network design and the odd stint of broadcasting for Radio Veritas and Radio Sonder Grense. Not surprisingly, his hobbies are somewhat ethereal and include astrophotography and astronomy.

St. Augustine College of South Africa is a postgraduate humanities and theology teaching and research institution. Postgraduate theology degrees offered by the college are honours, masters, and doctorates, to which Fr Badenhorst will bring decades of knowledge. He will be walking in the footsteps of theological teachings at St. Augustine, dating back 25 years when the university first opened.

The St. Augustine College mission is three-pronged:
· To provide value-based education with a solid ethical foundation.
· To inform the conduct of Catholics and fellow Christians in modern society.
· To encourage Catholic intellectuals to play their part in helping the Church deepen its commitment to the mission of evangelization and renewal.

Fr Badenhorst’s previous teaching posts and years of service to the Church provide a sound foundation to build his reputation as Head of Theology.

He began his studies at St. Joseph's Theological Institute, Cedara, Kwazulu-Natal, and furthered his studies at the Angelicum in Rome.

Shortly after he was ordained in 1990, Fr Badenhorst was posted as a parish priest to St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in Welkom and to Our Lady Cause of Joy in Bronville, Welkom. In 1996, he left for Europe to further his studies in Theology. He was a student and part-time lecturer for five years at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (also known as the Angelicum). During his years of studies, he obtained a Licentiate degree (equivalent to a Masters) specializing in the Old Testament.

His services in parish work included Red Barns, Newcastle-on-Tyne; St Charles, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada; St Peter’s, Halifax, Nova Scotia; and Heilig Kreuz, Augsburg, Germany.

Fr Martin is a former lecturer and head of the Department of Theology at St Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara, where he lectured in Hebrew Scriptures, World Religions, and Systematics.

His other appointments include that of Prior of the Pietermaritzburg Priory and member of the Vice-provincial council of the Order of Preachers. He is a member of the Southern African Vice-Province of the Order of Preachers.

This is not Fr Badenhorst’s first taste of St. Augustine College as, in past years, he has served as a part-time lecturer in the Scriptures, Ecumenism and World Religions.