SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL

Situated at the top of the Butte de l'Aiglon - which offers a beautiful view of the city centre, the river, and Kinshasa in the background - Brazzaville Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in Central Africa still standing. In 2022, it celebrated 130 years of existence. After the Brazzaville mission was founded in 1887, construction began in 1892 and continued over several decades. In the central part of the facade, the old bell tower was replaced by a concrete clocheton, topped by a Latin cross, designed by Roger Erell in 1952. Two polychrome statues of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul stand on either side of the main façade, and an anachronistic clock in the colours of a local telephone company... Visited by de Gaulle in 1944 and John Paul II, this is also the burial place of Cardinal Emile Biayenda, whose murder in 1977 still fuels rumours. Beside him lies Monseigneur Théophile Mbemba, the first Congolese archbishop of Brazzaville, appointed on June 23, 1964. Near the cathedral, the Place Marial is a small haven of peace and silence surrounded by a series of particularly well-preserved colonial houses, including the episcopal palace, a number of religious bookshops where you can buy locally-made rosaries, and a pilgrim reception centre. The buildings are built around a pretty rectangular courtyard with a statue of the Virgin Mary in the centre, where believers regularly come to gather and light candles.