Cathédrale du Sacré-Coeur

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Cathédrale du Sacré-Coeur is the oldest existing cathedral in central Africa. Perhaps that is why it serves as a seat of the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Brazzaville. 
The building itself was constructed between 1892 and 1894. The main entrance, with a large inscription of “Dieu est Amour” is decorated with two large statues of St. Paul on one side, and St. Peter on the other.  To the right of the building, there is a large, fenced courtyard - quite pretty and if there was playground equipment there, it could serve as a nice park.  The courtyard is surrounded by buildings, which I assume are used by the church as well. 

Charles de Gaulle visited the cathedral in 1944 and Pope John Paul II came in 1980.


I walk by the cathedral every day with one of our dogs.  The door is always open and often there is nice singing coming from the inside, or at least you see people going in and out for their morning prayers.


There is a taxi stand right in front of the building.  The drivers hang out there, have their morning coffee and chill before starting their day.  Few months ago one of them asked what the dog’s name was and since then every time I pass they call out the names of Mpenzi or Nala, sometimes still confusing the two.  I correct them and sometimes I make Nala sit or I take her closer to “say hi”. 


There is also a lady who sits near one of the statues, greets me every day and says she will pray for me. The other day she said she would pray for my dogs too! Interacting with people is quite a nice part of my walk.



By the way, I am on a hunt for those historic information boards!  The Cathedral is #15!  They have them all around town and I am determined to take photos of all of them.  They provide great information about various sites and because a good guidebook does not exist, they are very useful - following them would make for a nice city tour.  

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