Pope Leo prays at Catholic shrine in Angola that was a centre of African slave trade

Pope Leo on Sunday recalled the “sorrow and great suffering” Angolans endured for centuries, as the American pope prayed at a Catholic shrine located at the site of an important hub of the African slave trade during Portugal’s colonial rule.Leo travelled to the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, nestled in the Angolan savannahs of baobab trees at the edge of the Kwanza River. It became a major pilgrimage destination after believers reported an appearance by the Virgin Mary around 1833.But the Church of Our Lady of Muxima was originally built by Portuguese colonisers at the end of the 16th century as part of a fortress complex and it became a hub in the slave trade. It was where enslaved Africans were gathered to be baptised by Portuguese priests before being forced to walk to the port of Luanda, over 110km (70 miles) to the north, to be put on ships to the Americas.