Marian devotion
Our Lady of Africa
"Pray for us and for Muslims"
Perched on a cliff overlooking the Bay of Algiers, the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa is a Marian shrine open to all, a symbol of prayer for peace and fraternity between Christians and Muslims.
Origin and history
The devotion focuses on a bronze statue of the Virgin, venerated since 1857 under the title of Our Lady of Africa. The basilica that houses it, in neo-Byzantine style on the heights of Algiers, was opened to veneration in 1872, after almost forty years of work. The image was crowned in 1876.
From its origin, the sanctuary has been linked to the presence of the Church in the Maghreb. The inscription surrounding the apse summarizes its charism: "Our Lady of Africa, pray for us and for the Muslims," an expression of a sanctuary open to coexistence and peace.
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