Thousands expected at annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Muxima Shrine in Angola

Thousands of pilgrims are expected to participate in the 2024 pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima scheduled to begin on Aug. 30 in Angola’s Catholic Diocese of Viana, Bishop Emílio Sumbelelo has said. / Credit: Diocese of Viana

ACI Africa, Jul 22, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Thousands of pilgrims are expected to participate in the 2024 pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima scheduled Aug. 30–Sept. 1 in Angola’s Diocese of Viana, the local ordinary has said.

Bishop Emílio Sumbelelo, who spoke to journalists on July 16 after an audience with the governor of Luanda Province, Manuel Homem, highlighted some of the innovations for this year’s pilgrimage event under the theme “With Mary, Let Us Live the Year of Prayer in Faith.”

“This year thousands of people are expected to take part in this religious event,” Sumbelelo told journalists. “This year, we want to introduce fireworks to show the population that the pilgrimage also has a touristic aspect that we would like to promote.”

Pilgrims are set to arrive in the village of Muxima on Aug. 29 and will be ushered into “catechesis and religious celebrations” ahead of Mass to officially open the pilgrimage on Aug. 31.

Sumbelelo also spoke about the pilgrimage logo, which he said would be processed through some of the dioceses in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Luanda, including the Dioceses of Caxito and Viana.

“The pilgrimage logo will also follow the Cabala bridge to Muxima village, escorted by the military,” Sumbelelo said. This year’s pilgrimage to the shrine will also have Bishop Manuel da Silva Rodrigues Linda of the Diocese of Porto in Portugal as a guest of honor.

In the July 16 press conference, Sumbelelo, who is also president of the Episcopal Commission for Family and Life of the Bishops’ Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, said that engaging the governor was part of the decision to bring local authorities on board. 

“The pilgrimage will attract many people and we need the assistance of the authorities in ensuring order during the event,” he explained.

“We tried to deal with some common issues regarding parking and we know that work is underway at the Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima and spaces are beginning to be scarce,” Sumbelelo said.

Considered by many to be the most popular place of pilgrimage and worship in Angola, the Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima is located about 130 kilometers (81 miles) from the country’s capital city, Luanda.

In the local Kimbundu language, “Muxima” means “heart” — a name given to the shrine due to its location in the middle of the province. Muxima sits on the edge of the Kwanza River.

The Portuguese occupied the village of Muxima in 1589, at which time they built a fortress and the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Muxima.

A popular place of devotion to Our Lady, the Marian pilgrimage received a boost when Angola’s Diocese of Viana was created in 2007, inaugurating a new phase in the history of the Shrine.

This article was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.