Islamists destroyed a historic Catholic church in Mozambique

In the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, the historic church of St. Louis de Montfort was completely destroyed in an attack by extremists. According to Christian Today, church leaders in the region reiterated calls for peace and religious unity after the incident, condemning violence carried out in the name of the faith.

The attack on the parish in the village of Mignoin took place on Thursday, April 30. Armed militants affiliated with the Islamic State in Central Africa group set fire to church buildings, severely damaged a kindergarten and destroyed the priests’ residence. Despite the scale of the destruction, no fatalities were reported: the Cameroonian missionary priests serving the parish were absent at the time of the raid. Nevertheless, the local population was deeply traumatized — according to eyewitnesses, the gunmen detained civilians and forced them to listen to extremist speeches before they left.

The parish of St. Louis de Montfort was founded in 1946 and has long been the center of the Catholic community in the predominantly Muslim region. Bishop António Juliasse described the aftermath of the attack as a «scene of terror,» noting that the village’s infrastructure and residents’ homes lay in ruins. In an interview with the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he emphasized: «We have watched for nine years as rebels burn down churches, but the faith of God’s people will never burn.»

Archbishop Inácio Saure, who heads the Mozambique Bishops’ Conference, called for an end to the killings and warned against hostility toward Muslims, calling them «beloved brothers.» He recalled that the violence contradicts the country’s long history of peaceful coexistence of religions. According to human rights activists, more than 6,300 people have been killed and at least one million residents have been displaced since the uprising in Kabu Delgado began in 2017. At least 118 Christian places of worship in the region have already been destroyed by jihadists.