Basilicas in Southern and Eastern Africa

I blogged about the following basilica on June 12, 2019.

Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family, Nairobi, Kenya

I blogged about the following basilica on December 9, 2021.

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Bulawayo, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lodonga, Yumbe, Northern, Uganda

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1961.

The church was built by Comboni Missionary priests in the 1950s. It was damaged by civil strife in 1979 but has been repaired.

From a local source.

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Kabgayi, Sud, Rwanda

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1992.

The church is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Kabgayi. The church was built by the Society of African Missionaries and was completed in 1923. There is a memorial to the victims of the Rwandan Genocide near the church.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo, Kampala, Central, Uganda

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

The Basilica was built between 1965 and 1968 near the location where St. Charles Lwanga and St. Kizito were burned to death in 1886 by orders of the local ruler. Between 1885 and 1887, 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity were martyred for their Faith.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Mary, Lubumbashi, Katanta, Congo-Kinshasa

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2000.

The Basilica is a modern church built in 1951.

Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

Missionaries of the Holy Spirit from Germany came here in 1901 to evangelize. A church was built but it had fallen into disrepair by 1990. The local bishop built the existing church on the same site and it was completed in 2006. The building is made of stone, metal, and wood, and can seat nearly 4,000.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mongomo, Wele-Nzas, Region Continental, Equatorial Guinea

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

The church is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Mongomo. Built between 2006 and 2011, it was funded by the national government and built by an Italian company. The Basilica can hold 1,000. It is said to be the largest religious building in central Africa and the second largest Catholic church in all of Africa.