News from our missionary in Maputo, Mozambique

Sister Marie Lorahdawn Niro sends us her missionary experience direct from Maputo, Mozambique, where she has recently joined the community of sisters.

Even while still learning Portuguese, she is able to give her hand in the bookshop, in book displays and in vocation activities.

In her photos we can see her with the bishop of Angola (photo above) and with some other people (left photo) who visited them during their book display.

She also assisted in the recent vocation retreat the community organized for some young ladies.

To let us get more acquainted with the place that is Mozambique, we give you here a few details about it:

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.

Here in the photo is shown the Cathedral of our Lady of Fatima.

The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.

The only official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, with roughly half of the population speaking it as a second language and few as a first language. Languages widely spoken natively include Swahili, Makhuwa, and Sena.

The largest religion in Mozambique is Christianity, with significant Muslim and African traditional religious minorities.