Basílica de Santa Ana de Leulumoega
In Leulumoega, on the northern coast of the island of Upolu, is the lower basilica of Santa Ana, the only temple of Samoa with basilica rank. He owes that dignity to an unrepeatable event: there Pope Paul VI celebrated the Holy Mass on November 29, 1970, in the only visit of a Pope to the nation.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- El 29 de noviembre de 1970 san Pablo VI, en su última gran peregrinación apostólica por Asia y Oceanía, recorrió los kilómetros que separan el aeropuerto de Faleolo de Leulumoega y celebró la Eucaristía ante una multitud llegada de todo el país, recibido por el obispo Pio Taofinu’u y el jefe de Estado Malietoa Tanumafili II.
- When the Pope asked about the needs of the people, he was told of the lack of a school for girls; Paul VI left a financial aid and began the search for religious to attend to it: the visit of a few hours left lasting fruit.
- In memory of that papal mass, the temple was raised to the lower basilica, and remains the only basilica of Samoa, as the archdiocese of Samoa- Apia itself recalls.
- In 2020 the parish commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the visit with a solemn mass and the blessing of a new chapel, keeping alive the memory of the pilgrim Pope.
Santa Ana
The Basilica of Saint Anne of Leulumoega keeps the memory of the day when Saint Paul VI stepped on Samoa and celebrated the Mass there on November 29, 1970. Dedicated to the mother of the Virgin Mary, it is the only basilica in the country and a milestone of the Catholic faith in the Pacific.
"The mother of the Virgin Mary, Santa Ana, reaches for Samoa the blessing of your Daughter and your Niet.
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