Key Facts

• The Church of Our Lady of Muxima was built in Angola by Portuguese colonizers in the late 16th century.
• It was part of a fortress and served as a place where enslaved Africans were baptized before being forced to march to the port of Luanda.
• Angola was the main origin for the trans-Atlantic slave trade, sending more than 5 million people to the Americas.
• The Catholic Church historically supported the Portuguese slave trade based on Vatican directives allowing the enslavement of non-Christians.
• Pope Leo XIV will pray the Rosary by the church during his pastoral trip to Africa, symbolically re-shaping the site’s meaning from one of exploitation to one of prayer.
• Some African Catholics view the pope’s visit as a powerful moment of healing and transformation for the region’s painful past.
• Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope, with a background that includes Creole heritage and ancestors identified as people of color in Louisiana.
• It is not yet clear if the pope will explicitly address the issue of slavery during this visit, unlike previous popes who have done so on trips to Africa.