Building the City Begins with Transforming Hearts: Angolan Catholic Archbishop at Anniversary of Luanda City

Luanda, 27 January, 2025 / 3:48 PM

Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of the Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda has called on citizens to prioritize personal transformation as the foundation for building a united society.

Speaking during a Thanksgiving Mass that was held on January 25 to mark 449 years since the founding of the city of Luanda, Archbishop Dias said, “If we want to build the city, we must start by building the person, the inhabitant of the city.” 

He decried rising individualism and moral relativism in Angola, a trend he said threatens the city's social fabric. 

“There is in our city, silently and sometimes more broadly, the development of a sense of egocentric individualism and relativism in relation to behaviors, choices, and ethical decisions,” the Angolan Catholic Archbishop said.

He further lamented a growing “indifference” among Angolans, a vice he referred to as “atheism of the heart.”

He described a heart with atheism as one that “respects no one, sees no one, and fears no one.”

“This is evident in behaviors, statements, and actions that reveal a torn social fabric in our city, marked by an arrogant relativism with harmful consequences, leading to ignorance and aggression.”

Archbishop Dias reflected on Luanda’s historical significance, observing that residents of the city that was founded on 25 January 1576, by Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais, are now experiencing “disturbing trends in daily life.” 

“Just look at what happens daily on social media. The various stories, unfortunately never the best stories. Always the most painful, distressing, and shocking ones,” he remarked.

Archbishop Dias emphasized the need for residents of Luanda to establish alliances that transcend religious affiliations, saying, “Men and women of goodwill in our city, who I believe form the majority of its social fabric, are called to mount an authentic resistance. They must find common ground for believers and non-believers before strange behaviors become normalized and pass on to future generations as cultural or natural habits.”

Archbishop Dias cautioned that neglect leads to a city “without form or soul,” where the individual will dominate universal norms of coexistence.

On the importance of unity, Archbishop Dias said, “A city is, or should be, indeed must be, a ‘we,’ not a ‘for me,’ but a ‘for us.’ The city was born from the need for ‘we,’ from the recognition of the power of ‘we,’ and the discovery of the strength of walking, thinking, and building together.”

He warned of a growing aversion to collective identity among the people, and called for renewed efforts to address individualism and fragmentation. 

“To overcome the reality of two cities existing within the same geographic space, we must walk together and dream together of a new tomorrow,” the Catholic Archbishop of Luanda said.

Encouraging hope and ambition, the Archbishop said, “Having the courage to face challenges is not idealism, nor a waste of time, nor mere theoretical or academic exercises.”

“We must cultivate great dreams in our hearts, not sad passions, and resist the pessimism that absorbs and paralyzes us. Dreaming is not alienation or distraction—it is not mere romanticism,” he said, urging Angolans to “dream big, resist despair, and work together to build a city united in harmony and purpose.”