May the Mother of the Heart make our hearts like hers, Pope says at Rosary in Angola
April 19, 2026
Pope Leo XIV departed this afternoon from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola’s capital (video), and traveled by helicopter to the town of Muxima, where he arrived a half hour later (video).
Muxima is the site of a Marian shrine where the Blessed Virgin is venerated as Mama Muxima, or Mother of the Heart. After the recitation of the holy Rosary, Pope Leo delivered an address (video).
“We are in a sanctuary where, for centuries, many men and women have prayed in times of joy and also in moments of sorrow and great suffering in the history of this country,” the Pope said. “For a long time now, Mama Muxima has quietly worked to keep the heart of the Church alive and beating.”
“Her heart contains a multitude of hearts: yours, and those of many people who love, pray, celebrate, weep, and sometimes—even when unable to come in person—entrust their requests and petitions to letters and postal messages,” Pope Leo continued. “Mama Muxima welcomes everyone, listens to everyone and prays for everyone.”
The Pope called on the faithful to look to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of holiness and to make her loving sentiments our own:
As we journey toward heaven with joy, we look to her as our good Mother and model of holiness. Following her example, we bring the light of the risen One to the brothers and sisters we meet ...Praying the Rosary, then, commits us to loving every person with a mother’s heart—concretely and generously—and to dedicating ourselves to the good of one another, especially the poorest.
A mother loves all her children in the same way and with her whole heart, even though each one is different. In the presence of the Mother of the Heart, we too want to promise to do likewise. We strive without measure so that no one may lack love. We also seek to provide the necessities for living with dignity and happiness: that the hungry may have enough to eat, that the sick may receive the necessary care, that children may be guaranteed a proper education, and that the elderly may live their later years in peace.
A mother thinks of all these things Indeed, Mary thinks of all these things, and she also invites us to share in her maternal concern.
The Pope told young people that “the Mother of Heaven entrusts a great project to you as well: to build a better, welcoming world, where there is no more war, injustice, poverty or dishonesty, and where the principles of the Gospel increasingly inspire and shape hearts, structures and programs, for the good of all.”
“It is love that must triumph, not war!” the Pope added. “This is what the heart of Mary—the heart of the Mother of all—teaches us. Let us set out, then, from this shrine as ‘messenger angels’ of life, bringing Mary’s tender embrace and God’s blessing to everyone.”
Following the conclusion of the Rosary, Pope Leo returned this evening to Luanda.
CWN coverage of Pope Leo’s apostolic journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea:
Day 1 (April 13)
- Pope departs for Africa
- Pope Leo: ‘I have no fear of the Trump administration’
- I am ‘very happy’ to visit the land of St. Augustine, Pope says on flight to Algeria
- ‘The future belongs to men and women of peace,’ Pope says in first Algerian address
- Pope calls on Algeria’s leaders to promote ‘vibrant, dynamic, and free civil society’
- Pope visits Great Mosque of Algiers, recalls St. Augustine’s search for truth
- Pope emphasizes prayer, charity, unity in address to Algerian Catholics
Day 2 (April 14)
Day 3 (April 15)
- Pope bids farewell to Algeria, departs for Cameroon
- Pope, in remarks to journalists, highlights importance, relevance of St. Augustine
- Pope calls on Cameroon to embrace peace, break chains of corruption
- ‘Jesus cares especially for children like you,’ Pope tells orphans in Cameroon
Day 4 (April 16)
- Pope hails peacemaking efforts of Christian, Muslim leaders in Cameroon
- Now is the time to change this country, Pope preaches in Cameroon
- Pope meets with several Muslim leaders in Cameroon
Day 5 (April 17)
- ‘Bring the bread of life to your neighbors,’ Pope preaches in Cameroon’s largest city
- Societies flourish on the foundation of upright consciences that seek the truth, Pope tells university students
Day 6 (April 18)
- Draw near to the suffering and the poor, as Jesus did, Pope preaches at final Cameroon Mass
- Pope Leo departs from Cameroon, says his remarks there did not refer to President Trump
- Pope hails joy of Angola’s people, denounces extractivism
Day 7 (April 19)
- Pope, at Mass in Angola, warns faithful against syncretism, encourages them to ‘become like broken bread’
- Pope renews call for peace in Ukraine, Middle East
- May the Mother of the Heart make our hearts like hers, Pope says at Rosary in Angola
Day 8 (April 20)
- Pope flies to remote Angolan city, visits nursing home
- Reject superstition and follow Christ in freedom, Pope preaches at Mass in Angola
- ‘The first path is fidelity to Christ,’ Pope tells Angola’s priests and religious
Day 9 (April 21)
- Pope departs from Angola, heads to Equatorial Guinea
- Addressing journalists, Pope Leo recalls Pope Francis, says no date set to name new cardinals
- Serve the city of God and not love of self, Pope exhorts Equatorial Guinea’s leaders
- In Christ, the harmony between truth, reason, and freedom is manifest, Pope tells university community
- In Christian civilization, the sick are loved, Pope says at psychiatric hospital
Day 10 (April 22)
- Pope emphasizes the Eucharist and evangelization at Mass in Equatorial Guinea
- Pope tells prisoners: ‘No one is excluded from God’s love!’
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