Vleeschfontein

SA National Parks headquarters in Madikwe is housed at Vleeschfontein.  Sometime before 1879, Pope Pius the ninth let it be known that the peoples of the Zambezi needed to know all about Catholic Christianity.  In zealous adherence to this request, Jesuits from Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape trekked North via Kimberley, Marico and the eastern side of present day Botswana.  This is not the most direct route, but at the time this was the beaten path north.

After several successful migrations to the Zambezi, the Jesuits bought the farm Kalfontein, known to local hunters as Vleeschfontein. It was to serve as a resting and recovery spot for travelers on a mission.  Before long a small chapel was built and here is a picture of this very small chapel as it is today.  The railway line from Kimberly to Bulawayo via Zeerust diminished the importance of Vleeschfontein for the Jesuits.  In 1894 the Jesuits handed the farm and chapel to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.  On the scale of Christian charity, chastity and missionary zeal, the Oblates cannot be described as lean.

In 1925 a Lourdes Grotto was stacked using local stones and in 1926 a school was built.  Today this building houses the SAN Parks Headquarters in Madikwe.  For a variety of reasons, the mission at Vleeschfontein fizzled out in 1950.  In recent years there has been a resurgent revival of pilgrim activity.  Apparently thousands of pilgrims visit the chapel and Lourdes Grotto, most likely on February the 11th - a sort of early Valentines date with a Tswana twist.