The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

: Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Imaculada Conceição) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

in downtown

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

, the capital of

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The cathedral is located on

Praça da Independência Praça da Independência (English: Independence Square) is a public square and focal point of Maputo, Mozambique. It was built by the Portuguese as Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque (''Mouzinho de Albuquerque Square'') and was dominated by a statue of ...

(Independence Square) next to Hotel Rovuma and

Maputo City Hall Maputo City Hall or Municipal Council Building of Maputo (Portuguese: ''Edifício do Conselho Municipal de Maputo'') is the seat of the local government of the capital of Mozambique. The neoclassical building is located at the head of ''Praça ...

. It is dedicated to

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

. The foundation stone for the construction of the church was laid on June 28, 1936, and is located inside the narthex and inscribed by the Bishop of Mozambique and Cape Verde, D. Rafael Maria da Asunção. Construction on the cathedral was completed in 1944. The cathedral was designed by the Portuguese civil engineer Marcial Simões de Freitas e Costa, then a railway director. He designed the church pro bono for the

Archdiocese of Lourenço Marques The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maputo ( la, Maputensis) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Maputo in Mozambique. History * 21 January 1612: Established as a ''prelature nullius'' from the Diocese of Goa * 1783: Promoted ...

. Freitas was inspired by the simple style and building materials of church construction in Europe of the time; the cathedral was ultimately built of concrete and cement. He was inspired to buildings such as the Notre-Dame du Raincy in

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its populat ...

(1921-1923) by

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

and

Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Fátima "Igreja" ("Church") is a single by Brazilian rock band Titãs, released in 1986, part of their '' Cabeça Dinossauro'' album. Lyrics and composition According to songwriter and then bassist and vocalist Nando Reis, the song was written on the a ...

(1934-1938) in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, built by

Pardal Monteiro Pardal is the surname of: *Chris Pardal (born 1972), Actor * Edmilson Marques Pardal (born 1980), Brazilian footballer *Fernando Rielo Pardal (1923–2004), Spanish mystical poet, philosopher, author, metaphysician and founder of a Catholic religio ...

. The simplicity and the choice of new materials was also a result of financial problems of the period.

References

* Buildings and structures in Maputo Tourist attractions in Maputo Roman Catholic cathedrals in Mozambique Roman Catholic churches completed in 1944 1944 establishments in Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese colonial architecture in Mozambique 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings {{Mozambique-struct-stub