Pope Leo XIV led tens of thousands of Angolan Catholics in praying the rosary April 19 at southern Africa's most visited Catholic shrine, calling the pilgrimage site a place where "the heart of the Church" is "alive and beating."

The pope traveled by helicopter from Angola's capital, Luanda, to the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, which means "Mother of the Heart" in the local Kimbundu language. Pope Leo made the pilgrimage to the beloved Marian shrine situated on the banks of the Kwanza River after celebrating morning Mass for roughly 100,000 faithful in Kilamba, a district near the Angolan capital city of Luanda.

Local authorities estimated approximately 30,000 pilgrims gathered on the Muxima shrine's esplanade for the recitation of the rosary, with even more gathered in surrounding areas. Many had camped at the site for two or three days in anticipation of the papal visit, enduring 90-degree heat in the hours before his arrival. The crowd greeted the pope with singing and dancing as he moved through the grounds in a golf cart.

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Upon arrival, Pope Leo entered the historic church for a moment of private prayer, which was broadcast on large screens for the crowd, who cheered loudly when they saw Pope Leo kneel before Our Lady, before presiding over the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the rosary and the Litany of Loreto.

As the sun set, casting orange light across the sky, the crowd joined the pope in singing the Salve Regina.

"We are in a sanctuary where, for centuries, many men and women have prayed in times of joy and also in moments of sorrow and great suffering in the history of this country," the pope said, speaking in Portuguese. "For a long time now, Mama Muxima has quietly worked to keep the heart of the Church alive and beating."

The church, formally dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was first established in 1599 during the era of Portuguese colonial Angola. More than 1 million pilgrims visit the shrine during its largest pilgrimage alone, which occurs each year between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

Pope Leo reflected on how the faithful had over the centuries spontaneously renamed the shrine "Mama Muxima," calling it "a beautiful title, which makes us reflect on the heart of Mary: a pure and wise heart, capable of treasuring and pondering the extraordinary events in the life of the Son of God."

The pope also spoke one line in the local Kimbundu language, quoting a hymn the crowd had sung, "Mama Muxima, tueza kokué, Mama Muxima, tutambululé," meaning "Mother of the Heart, we come to you to offer you everything."

Pope Leo underlined that praying the rosary commits us to loving every person with a mother's heart and to "dedicating ourselves to the good of one another, especially the poorest."

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"We strive without measure so that no one may lack love ... that the hungry may have enough to eat, that the sick may receive the necessary care, that children may be guaranteed a proper education, and that the elderly may live their later years in peace," he said.

Mirian Dos Santos, 25, of Luanda, said she had kept an all-night vigil at the shrine the evening before the pope's arrival.

"We are very happy to receive our dear pope here," she told OSV News. "Mama Muxima is our heart. Mama Muxima is the first Lady that we go to, we call her, we ask for her intercession."

Dinis Mayomona, a seminarian who attended the pope's Mass in Kilamba earlier in the day, described the shrine as a place of total surrender.

"We surrender all our suffering, all our dreams ... because we have got many problems here," he said, "and once we surrender our suffering in the hands of Mama Muxima, we know perfectly that she will solve our problems because she is beside her Son."

The shrine carries a complex and painful history. For nearly 300 years, the site along the Kwanza River served as a waypoint for enslaved Africans being marched to the Atlantic Coast for transport to the Americas. It is also intertwined with the legacy of Queen Nzinga (1582–1663), ruler of the kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba in present-day Angola. Nzinga waged a 30-year war against Portuguese colonial forces, significantly disrupting the transatlantic slave trade, and eventually returned to the Catholic faith, signing a peace treaty with Portugal in 1656.

Angolan Catholic radio journalist Cornelio Bento, traveling with the Vatican press corps, told OSV News the shrine holds a special place in Angolan Catholic life, particularly for women hoping to conceive.

"If you go to Muxima Shrine, you will listen to a lot of history of miracles," he said.

Pope Leo also commended a construction project currently underway to build a new, larger shrine at the site -- a project that has been years in the making.

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Following the rosary vigil, the pope returned by helicopter to Luanda, where he was to spend the night before flying Monday to Saurimo, in Angola's eastern Lunda Sul province.

(Courtney Mares is Vatican Editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney)