The Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace of Bafatá (Guinea-Bisau)
In Bafatá, the second city of Guinea- Bisáu and cradle of Amílcar Cabral, the Sé Catedral of Nossa Senhora da Graça - Our Lady of Grace - is the seat of the diocese of Bafatá, erected on 13 March 2001 from the diocese of Bisáu and immediately subject to the Holy See. The Virgin, under this title of grace, presides over a young and missionary Church in the east of the country.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The diocese was born on March 13, 2001, torn from that of Bisau, and its church of Our Lady of Grace was raised that same year to cathedral, with the Blessed Virgin Mary as patron.
- His first bishop was Carlos Pedro Zilli, a missionary of the PIME born in Brazil, ordained bishop on 30 June 2001; he gave his life to this Church until his death by COVID- 19 on 31 March 2021, at the age of 66.
- Its current bishop is the Franciscan Victor Luís Quematcha, appointed in March 2025 and consecrated and installed in Bafatá on June 28, 2025.
- The diocese covers 24,635 km ² of eastern Guinea- Bisau; Catholics are a small minority - 36,400 faithful out of 685,000 in 2012, about 5% - who live their faith in daily dialogue with a Muslim majority.
Our Lady of Grace
Under the title of Our Lady of Grace, the Virgin loves one of the youngest dioceses in West Africa. In Bafatá, a small and confident Catholic community guards its cathedral and entrusts Mary to the serene growth of faith in Guinea-Bisáu.
"Our Lady of Grace, Mother of mercy, reaches abundant graces for the Church of Bafatah.
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