The Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima of Kano

Kano · State of Kano · Nigeria · Catholic faith in the hausa heart

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima in Kano, in northern Nigeria, is one of the most significant Catholic temples in the country: a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin of Fatima in the most important city in northern Muslim Nigeria.

Kano: capital comercial of norte

Kano is the most important city in northern Nigeria, a millennial shopping centre that was the meeting point of the Transaharian routes. The population is overwhelmingly Muslim (hausa- Fulani), and the Catholic presence is testimonial: a minority of immigrants from the south (igbo, Yoruba) and local converts.

The cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, was built by missionaries working in northern Nigeria. The choice of the apvocation of Fatima - the Virgin who appeared in Portugal in 1917 - is not casual: Fatima is also an Arab name (the daughter of the Prophet), and the missionaries wanted to establish a symbolic bridge with the Muslim world.

The challenge of evangelization in the north

Northern Nigeria is the most difficult territory for Catholic evangelization. Religious tensions - exacerbated by Boko Haram's insurgency since 2009 - have made the Christian presence in the north an act of courage. The Kano Cathedral has been threatened and subject to special security measures, but it is still on its way.