Namibe, 26 July, 2025 / 9:40 pm (ACI Africa).
Angola’s Third National Congress of Catholic Laity has opened in the Diocese of Namibe with a call for lay Christians to deepen their commitment to the Church and contribute to the nation’s renewal.
Addressing participants at the pre-congress conference that was held on Thursday, July 24, at the University of Namibe, the Local Ordinary of Namibe Diocese said the Catholic Church in Angola has been shaped and built by lay people whose witness and sacrifices sustained the faith through difficult times.
“It was the lay people who kept the missions going, who were present where the Priest was not, who took on responsibilities with courage and sacrifice. With their own lives, through sacrifice, struggle, and martyrdom, they built this Church in Angola,” Bishop Dionísio Hisiilenapo said at the start of the July 24-27 conference that was held under the theme “Angola at 50 Years: The Role of Catholic Laity in the Political, Social, Economic, and Business Sectors.”
He added, “Lay people also have a decisive role in the world, in social, political, and economic environments. The layperson is in politics, in the economy, in academia, in businesses, in the justice system, in banking — wherever human presence is found, there is the layperson. So, it is your duty to be there, to be salt of the earth and light of the world.”
The Local Ordinary of Namibe, who also serves as Vice-President of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST), emphasized that the laity are essential to both Church and society.
