Mozambique Bishop appeals for solidarity after church set on fire by jihadists

By Roberto Paglialonga

A church has been set ablaze, and the Piarist fathers’ house and the kindergarten were also attacked. There has been a new wave of jihadist violence in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, where a war has been raging for over eight years, claiming more than 6,200 lives and displacing over 1.3 million people.

Sister Laura Malnati, provincial superior of the Comboni Missionary Sisters in the country, spoke to Italy's Avvenire newspaper about this latest attack.

Testimony of Comboni Sister Malnati

According to her account, on the afternoon of Thursday, April 30, militants of Ahlu al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a—a local group affiliated with so-called Islamic State (IS) and active since 2017—attacked the village of Meza, in the Ancuabe district, northern Cabo Delgado province. “They set the village structures on fire,” the Sister recounted, still shaken. “Fortunately, the fathers were warned in time and managed to leave Meza before the terrorists arrived,” she added. The militants also destroyed several homes, in addition to burning some parish buildings. The parish, dedicated to Saint Louis de Montfort and built in 1946, is considered a symbol of the Catholic presence in the region.

A community in shock

In a message to Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop António Juliasse Ferreira Sandramo of Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado, explained that the militants arrived around 4 p.m. and entered the church, effectively razing it to the ground and setting it ablaze. “A scene of genuine terror. Everything was reduced to rubble. During the attack, civilians were captured and used as an audience for messages of hatred. The missionaries are safe, but the community is in shock.” Even so, he added, “the faith of this people will never be destroyed.”

An appeal for international solidarity

The Bishop then launched an appeal for international solidarity with the victims of violence in the region. “We ask for attention and solidarity,” he said. “For nearly nine years, chapels and churches in the diocese have been attacked, destroyed, and set on fire.”

Cabo Delgado is one of the poorest provinces in Mozambique, which itself is one of the world's poorest countries. Yet the country’s north is rich in mines and natural gas reserves, and many Western companies are involved in extracting the resources. Because of the violence, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 110,000 people were forced to flee their homes in 2025.