Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

About this place

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, known as Maputo Cathedral, is a white Catholic church in the heart of the capital, on Independence Square beside the Hotel Rovuma and City Hall. Its sharp white tower rises over the nearby districts, so you can see it from far away. It is among the city's main buildings and a clear example of 20th-century Portuguese architecture. Its foundation stone was laid on 28 June 1936, inscribed by the Bishop of Mozambique and Cape Verde, and it now sits in the entrance. Building ended in 1944. The Portuguese civil engineer Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, then a railway director, designed it free of charge for the diocese. Its lines therefore combine a traditional church with the plainness of modern building. Broad steps lead up to the front, and the tower climbs in parallel vertical lines broken by long black openings, ending in a cross. Two low white wings and small columns flank it, all in bright white concrete. Before it spreads a broad round square with a monument and trees, and nearby you see the white City Hall and tree-lined avenues. It is about 1 km from the Central Railway Station in a straight line and about 600 metres from the Central Market, so they fit into one walk. This is a place of worship, so dress modestly and avoid service times if you want to go in. It looks finest in early morning, when the sun lights the tower against a clear blue sky.