Catholic Church in Mozambique razed to ashes

Following a recent terrorist attack on the port town of Pemba, which serves as the capital of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province, the rectory, church and offices of Our Lady of Africa Mazeze Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Pemba in Mozambique were razed to ashes.

In a February 14 interview with a news outlet, the Parish Priest of the Parish confirmed the attack, adding that no human casualties were recorded.

Recounting the incident, Father Salvador Maria Rodrigues de Brito said, “It was exactly 6 p.m. on Monday (February 12) when they entered and took over the town of Posto Mazeze. A lot of people had already evacuated, of course, but they came in heavily armed”.

He added, “The terrorists attacked the headquarters of the Mazeze Administrative Post destroying the infrastructure of the local authorities, the health center and the local school.”

The terrorists, the Priest continued, “also attacked and destroyed mission buildings, especially the rectory, the Church and the parish office, some of which were recently built, but with no reported human victims.”

“Everything was machine-gunned, everything was razed, not even a single piece of clothing was left,” Fr. Rodrigues de Brito lamented, adding, “They burned tents, they burned surrounding houses, they burned a car, they even burned the Health Center in Mazeze Sede.”

“The only thing I took out of there was a small suitcase, thinking I would be back in a few days, so everything, even documents, were destroyed,” he said.

“The only thing that was saved, thanks to God, was the Blessed Sacrament and the books of sacraments, baptisms and marriages, that I had brought with me, and the Most Holy Sacrament that was in the chapel of the mission headquarters, which I managed to take when I escaped”, Fr. Rodrigues de Brito added.

The Catholic Priest said the Our Lady of Africa Mazeze Parish is the headquarters of the “Window on the Future” social project and during the attack, some of the equipment used to implement the project was destroyed, including sewing machines.

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“There were only six sewing machines, as well as other things, in the missionary house. Everything that was there, the clothes, the vestments, everything was razed,” he added.

The crisis in Northern Mozambique, erupted in 2017, and is mostly concentrated in Cabo Delgado province, but has also spread to its neighboring provinces, such as Nampula and Niassa. As of December 2023, the violent conflict has left more than a million people displaced.