Page 52 - KBHA Bulletin 13

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He was a believer in expressing his faith with deeds, and one of the most wonderful of
these throughout his priesthood was that of religiously ringing the church bell at 6.55

a.m. every morning. Its beautiful peals would ring throughout the neighbourhood with
great clarity and was appreciated by one and all. So enthusiastically did he undertake

this early morning task that the clanger once dropped off and nearly ended his tenure on

Earth. This wonderful Christian awakening has sadly ceased much to the
disappointment of many of the older residents.

In April 1947 in true Christian spirit he erected a Catholic sign, known as a Chi-Rho

and one of the earliest Christian emblems, on the mountainside above Boyes Drive. It
was a series of white washed stone mounds some two and a half foot high which were

shaped in the form of an X superimposed on a P, the first two letters of the Greek word

for Christ (XPICTOC). The site was approximately 18 metres along Boyes Drive and
45 metres up to the contour path. This denoted the sign of Christian ownership and the

mounds were erected on church property. (Fig. 1.26). The Reverend A. H. Jeffree James

objected most strongly to this and complained of “the defacement of the mountainside
at St. James with a certain sign formed by white stones”. He also queried whether

additional rates had been paid as a result of this advertisement.

The City Council saw it as an advertisement contravening Regulation No. 194. Father
Doran was instructed to remove the stones, as a precedent would otherwise be set for

other persons to advertise in a similar manner. Father Doran refused. Legal advice was

sought by the Council and their legal advisor said it was perfectly in order to advertise
in this way as it was on church property and was similar to a Cross on a church or a Star

of David on a synagogue. Father Doran won the day.

In a letter in the Cape Argus, soon after his death on 10 July 1971, Elsie Crew wrote:

There has been a lot of discussion of late about what constitutes a Christian, and I
quote Cardinal McCann who said: “He sought to follow in the footsteps of his

Divine Master.” The door of his little church at St. James was always open for
anyone to enter and utter a silent prayer. No wretched human being was too abject
for his compassion. All who came to him, whatever their creed or colour, he helped
unobtrusively with kind and patient words and money. He never failed to keep his
word.