Ntra. Ms. de la Liberación de Popenguin - The national sanctuary of Senegal
In Popenguin, a coastal village about 70 kilometres south of Dakar, the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Délivrande, the Marian heart of the Catholic Senegal, rises. The first pilgrimage was held in Pentecost in 1888, with some two hundred faithful; today the annual meeting brings together tens of thousands of pilgrims.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- On May 22, 1888, under the presidency of Monsignor Picarda, the faithful first venerated in Popenguin to Notre- Dame de la Délivrande, an advocation brought from the Norman shrine of Douvre-la-Délivrande.
- The temple, beginning in 1888, was not finished until a century later; St. John Paul II raised it to the lower basilica in 1992, during his visit to Senegal, and blessed the statue of the Black Virgin who presides over the sanctuary.
- Every Monday of Pentecost comes pilgrims from all over Senegal; the walk from Dakar began in 1981, and in 2026 the pilgrimage celebrated its 138 years.
- In 1963 Senegal and the Gambia were consecrated to Notre-Dame de la Délivrande; in Popenguin, a majority Muslim population, the neighbors participate in the organization of the pilgrimage.
Our Lady of Popenguin
Marian National Sanctuary of Senegal: since 1888 the Senegalese Church has been walking every Pentecost towards its Black Virgin. Since 1992, it has also been a sign of coexistence between Christians and Muslims.
"Our Lady of Liberation, Our Lady of Popenguin, deliver us from all evil.
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