Anglican head to visit Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, arrives in Mozambique for a four-day visit this Saturday.

After a 29-year hiatus, this is the second visit to Mozambique of a leader of the Anglican Communion.

During his stay in the country, Reverend Welby will inaugurate a church in Matola, lead a mass in Maputo city and visit displaced people in Cabo Delgado.

Announced as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in late 2012, Justin Welby comes to Mozambique in a special context for the Anglican Church. The local leadership is therefore preparing a grand reception.

"This is a long-awaited pastoral visit, which will be very significant for the Church’s believers, and takes place at a time when we are experiencing great growth. We have prepared a reception group at the airport. Afterwards, we asked him to give a blessing and inaugurate a new church in Matola,” explained Bishop Carlos Matsinhe.

On Sunday (20-11), the Anglican leader will lead a mass at the Maxaquene Pavilion, endorsing the leadership of the newly created Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola ecclesiastical province (IAMA)].

"We created the necessary conditions to welcome believers and other guests for this celebration. You don’t need to be an Anglican to go to the Maxaquene Pavilion and participate in the mass,” Bishop Matsinhe observes.

More than 3,000 believers are expected to attend, including believers from the eight dioceses of Mozambique, but also from England, Sweden, Angola, the United States of America and neighbouring countries.

The newly created Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola [Igreja Anglicana de Moçambique e Angola (IAMA)], the 42nd ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Church, will be proclaimed at the mass.

Justin Welby places Cabo Delgado at the heart of his visit.

"On Monday, [the archbishop] travels to Cabo Delgado, where he will have a meeting with the interreligious platform, which includes our bishop Manuel Ernesto, who has been working on the issue of social assistance in the face of the humanitarian crisis that is taking place. in that region. In addition, he will visit a reception centre for persons displaced by terrorism in that part of the country,” the Reverend Matsinhe concludes.

The Anglican Communion compasses more than 86 million believers worldwide, most of them on the African continent.