The Redemptorist Parish of the Holy Family, located in the center of the country’s capital, offered a thanksgiving mass on Sunday, January 25, as part of the celebrations for the 450th anniversary of the founding of the city of Luanda, capital of the Republic of Angola.
Under the motto “Luanda 450 years, a city baptized and confirmed,” the celebration was presided over by the Archbishop of Luanda, Monsignor Filomeno Viera Dias, who stated in his homily: “Urban development must be measured by its capacity to guarantee dignified living conditions for its inhabitants.” More than 10,000 Luanda residents participated in this moment of prayer.
The city of Luanda was founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais in 1576 with the name São Paulo da Assunção de Luanda, which is why it has the “apostle of the people” as its patron saint. The province of Luanda is the largest population center in the country with more than 8 million inhabitants.
The Holy Family Parish was built during the colonial era as a tribute from the local community to the first Archbishop of Luanda, Moisés Alves de Pinho, who was celebrating 50 years of priesthood. He, in turn, entrusted it to the pastoral care of the Redemptorist missionaries as a gesture of gratitude, since it was during a popular missionary preaching trip to Portugal that he felt the vocation to become a priest.
The church has seen Portuguese and Brazilian Redemptorist missionaries provide pastoral care for many years. The current Redemptorist parish priest is Father Armando Pinho, assisted by Father Carlos Tchipilica, also a Redemptorist, who serves as parochial vicar.
Brother Baltazar Baptista, CSsR.
