Angola’s President and Catholic Bishops’ Conference Leadership Reflect on “religious issues that threaten social peace”

Under the Framework Agreement, the Republic of Angola and the Holy See commit to cooperate for the spiritual and material well-being of the people of God, while respecting the dignity and rights of the human person.

In the document, the Angolan State recognizes the juridical personality of the Catholic Church in the Southern African nation and ownership of its properties.

In his July 18 address to journalists, Archbishop Imbamba said he also discussed preparations for the 50th Anniversary of Angola’s Independence scheduled for 11 November 2025.

The Local Ordinary of Angola’s Catholic Archdiocese of Saurimo said the Catholic Church wants to make the event “a moment of ecumenical worship in which Angolans can thank God for all the blessings.”

“Celebrating 50 years of freedom should not be limited to an ecumenical Service only. We need an enlarged gathering of Angolans to reflect on the past, present, and future of our country,” the 59-year-old Angolan Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in December 2008 said.

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He underscored the need for a “social, political, spiritual, economic and legal transformation in the country, so that Angola, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, is reborn with inclusion, meritocracy, and fraternity.”

“It is our wish to see Angola transformed as a country of all and for all,” Archbishop Imbamba told journalists on July 18.

Reflecting on the 48th anniversary of Angola’s independence last November, Bishop Maurício Agostinho Camuto of Angola’s Caxito Diocese lamented that the nation is lagging behind in development and cannot feed her people.

“One has the feeling that in almost 50 years we haven't hit our stride,” Bishop Camuto said in a 12 November 2023 homily at Holy Rosary Parish of his Episcopal See.  

He added, “There are societies that in fewer years, in less time, have grown, and developed. But we are heading towards 50 years, but we are as we are, we can't even feed the citizens, with the goods we have, with the riches that the Lord has given us.”

The Southern African nation gained independence after some 14 years of armed resistance to Portuguese colonial rule. The three major movements that were involved in the armed conflict included the Movimiento Popular de Liberación de Angola (MPLA), the Front for the National Liberation of Angola (FLNA), and National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA); they signed the Alvor agreement in January 1975.

The proclamation of Angola’s national independence took place on 11 November 1975, which is the country’s annual Independence Day. The day honours all those who sacrificed their lives during the struggle against Portuguese rule and colonialism. The day also recalls all those who died in the liberation war and subsequent violent conflicts.

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