Pope Prays at Catholic Shrine in Angola That Was a Center of African Slave Trade

April 22, 2026

Pope Leo XIV visited the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima in Angola, a Catholic pilgrimage site that was originally constructed by Portuguese colonizers in the late 1500s as part of a fortress where enslaved Africans were baptized before being marched to ships bound for the Americas. During his visit, the pontiff acknowledged centuries of suffering endured by Angolans but did not specifically mention slavery, instead urging crowds to build a more just world. The site's history exemplifies the Catholic Church's controversial involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, which was initially authorized by 15th-century papal bulls that permitted Portuguese rulers to enslave non-Christians.

Who is affected

Enslaved Africans who were baptized at Muxima before being transported to the Americas (historical)
More than 5 million people who left Angola through the trans-Atlantic slave route (historical)
Pope Leo XIV (the current American pope with ancestors who were both enslaved people and slave owners)
Black Catholics globally, particularly those in the United States
An estimated 30,000 people gathered at the sanctuary during the papal visit
Indigenous peoples whose lands were seized under the Doctrine of Discovery
Black Catholic scholars including Anthea Butler, Tia Noelle Pratt, and Rev. Christopher J. Kellerman
Cardinal Wilton Gregory (first African American cardinal)
African Americans and people of color who identify with the pope's heritage

What action is being taken

Pope Leo XIV traveled to and prayed the Rosary at the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima
The pope is viewing plans to build a basilica at the site
Henry Louis Gates Jr. presented genealogical research to Leo during a July 5 audience at the Vatican

Why it matters

This visit matters because it highlights the Catholic Church's historical complicity in the transatlantic slave trade through papal bulls that authorized Portugal to enslave non-Christians and colonize Africa. The site represents a painful intersection of faith and oppression where enslaved Africans were forcibly baptized before their brutal journeys to the Americas. For Black Catholics, the visit represents a potential moment of healing and acknowledgment, though many scholars argue the Vatican has not fully admitted or atoned for the popes' direct role in authorizing slavery. The significance is heightened by revelations that Pope Leo XIV himself descends from both enslaved people and slaveholders, creating a unique opportunity for the Church to address this legacy, though the pope has not yet publicly discussed his own heritage or the Church's historical involvement.

What's next

Plans are underway to build a basilica at the Muxima site
Pope Leo XIV urged people to build "a better, more welcoming world, where there are no more wars, no injustices, no poverty, no dishonesty" (aspirational rather than specific next steps)
No other explicit next steps stated in the article regarding formal Vatican acknowledgment, apologies, or the pope's public discussion of his ancestral heritage.

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint