St. Matthew's Cathedral in Khartoum
Next to the Blue Nile, near the Mac Nimir Bridge, the Cathedral of San Mateo, the seat of the Archbishop of Khartoum and the heart of the Catholic Church in Sudan, rises. His history goes back to the Apostolic Vicariate of Central Africa, erected in 1846, and to the small church that he was already a cathedral in 1847.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- In 1872 the vicariate was entrusted to Saint Daniel Comboni, an apostle of Central Africa, who served him as apostolic vicar until his death in Khartoum itself in 1881; his missionary work marked the Sudanese Church forever.
- The first church was destroyed in 1885, when the Mahdist forces took over the city and destroyed all the missions in Sudan; missionary activity could be resumed in 1899, after the end of the war.
- The current Neorromic-style cathedral with three ships, a slender tower and a large roseton, was completed in the early 20th century; the Comonian missionary Pietro Laffranchi, a building master, introduced in Sudan the techniques of armed concrete when working there in the 1930s.
- During the war that began in 2023, the interior and exterior of the building suffered serious damage in the battle of Khartoum, although the structure remains stable; Archbishop Michael Didi Adgum Mangoria had to take refuge in Port Sudan, where he continued in October 2024.
Catedral de San Mateo
The Cathedral of San Mateo, next to the Blue Nile, keeps the memory of San Daniel Comboni and a twice-proven Church: destroyed by the Mahdists in 1885 and seriously damaged in the war of 2023. The archdiocese of Khartoum, with 27 parishes, today holds its faith in the midst of the trial.
"St. Mary, comfort of the afflicted, and Saint Daniel Comboni, reach peace for Sudan and protect your persecuted Church.
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