Islamists reduce historic church to rubble in northern Mozambique
The attack on the parish of St Louis de Montfort did not inflict any casualties on the missionaries but generated widespread panic among the Christian population.
A historic church in Meza, in the region of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, was reduced to rubble during an attack by jihadist insurgents, on 30 April.
According to information sent by sources on the ground to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the attack took place at around 16:00, as armed militants entered the parish of St Louis de Montfort in Minhoene and began to destroy everything. The church, the offices and the missionaries’ residence were set ablaze, and the kindergarten was vandalised.
“It was a scene of terror. Homes, infrastructure, all destroyed, and the historic parish reduced to rubble. Civilians were captured and forced to watch and listen to speeches of hatred,” wrote the Bishop of Pemba, António Juliasse, in a message to ACN.
The parish of St Louis de Montfort was founded in 1946 and was an important landmark for the Catholic presence in northern Mozambique, which is majority Muslim.
The community is currently served by Cameroonian missionaries, who fortunately were not present when the terrorists arrived.
“The missionaries are safe, but the community remains in shock even after the attackers left the scene at nightfall.”
Bishop António Juliasse says the local Christians need encouragement from the wider Church. “We ask for attention and solidarity for the victims of Meza. For nine years, we have watched the insurgents burn chapels and churches in the Diocese of Pemba. But the faith of God’s people will never burn, everyday it is rebuilt!”
Archbishop Inácio Saure of Nampula, who is also the president of the Mozambican Bishops’ Conference, told ACN that the attacks on Christians and on Christian places of worship “go completely against our culture of peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths and our experience of living in peace”.
“Let the destruction and the killing cease. Let the incitement of hatred against Christians cease, and may we not allow space for Islamophobia either, because the Muslims are not our enemies, they are our beloved brethren.”
Although the insurgency in Cabo Delgado initially focused mostly on military and state targets, over the past few years the terrorists, who claim allegiance to the Islamic State, have been targeting Christians specifically.
Since November 2017, the conflict in Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique, has caused at least 6,300 deaths and displaced more than one million people, affecting populations of different religions and communities. Within this broader context of violence, at least 300 Catholics have been brutally killed in attacks specifically targeting Christians, according to António Juliasse, Bishop of Pemba, including catechists, pastoral agents, lay faithful and an Italian religious, Sister Maria de Coppi. A total of at least 118 churches and chapels have also been destroyed in the course of the insurgency, including this latest incident in Meza.
ACN continues to support the Church in Mozambique in the midst of the crisis. Projects include humanitarian aid, psycho-social support and the rebuilding of infrastructure. The Vatican has also continued to show its proximity to the Catholics of Cabo Delgado, making constant calls for peace. In December 2025, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, visited the region and heard first-hand testimonies from victims.
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