Angola's "Our Lady of Muxima" attracts one million pilgrims

More than a million pilgrims from different parts of Angola and abroad are expected to this year’s annual pilgrimage at the shrine of Our Lady of Muxima, this weekend, from 6 to 7 September  in Quiçama.

The traditional pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Muxima, this year, has as its motto "Rooted in Christ, walk with Mary." According to the spokesperson of the organising committee, Fr. Queiroz Figueira, all is now ready for the pilgrimage starting from the liturgies to the logistics at the shrine. Given the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease plaguing parts of West Africa, Fr. Figueira says that measures to ensure public health and safety are in place.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima is located 130 kilometers from Luanda. The shrine is considered by many to be the most popular place of pilgrim and worship in Angola. Every year, the shrine attracts local and foreign pilgrims.  In the local Kimbundo  language, "Muxima" means heart.  The name was given to the shrine due to its prime location in the middle (heart) of the province. Muxima also sits on the edge of the Kwanza River.

The village of Muxima was occupied by the Portuguese in 1589. They built in the village, a fortress and the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Our Lady of Muxima). Since then, the shrine has been a popular place of devotion to our Lady from one generation to the next.

The Shrine received a boost when the Diocese of Viana was created in 2007, inaugurating a new phase in the history of the Shrine.

(Sasembele Anastacio in Luanda, Angola)