By Paschal Norbert
NAMPULA, AUGUST 15, 2025 (CISA) – Most Rev. Inácio Saúre IMC, the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nampula and President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM), has raised alarm over the escalating illegal occupation of Catholic Church land and property in the province of Nampula, warning that the encroachments are undermining the Church’s pastoral and social mission.
Speaking during a press briefing, Archbishop Saúre described the situation as “regrettable and unacceptable,” noting that even land that once hosted two seminaries has been seized.
“What is illegal is illegal, and therefore, we must condemn it. It is unacceptable to see land occupied in this manner,” he said.
According to the archbishop, numerous plots of land and buildings belonging to the Church have been appropriated by individuals and groups for private use without authorization or any form of dialogue with Church authorities. He stressed that such acts violate property rights and disrupt projects intended to benefit the wider community.
“We had boundary walls, but even they were destroyed,” Archbishop Saúre said, adding that legal cases are already before the courts. However, he lamented that even court decisions have been ignored by those involved.
“We hope authorities will appoint someone to help the Church recover what is its own, because what they have done is a crime,” he stated.
The latest confrontation over Church property centers on a plot of land next to the Matre Apostolorum Philosophical Seminary, also home to the Saint Charles Lwanga Propedeutic Seminary, both crucial for the formation of future priests.
In a report aired by Rádio e Televisão Encontro on July 29, 2025, it was revealed that several families had built makeshift houses on the property and even constructed a mosque within meters of the seminary dormitories.
On Tuesday, the Nampula Provincial Court ordered the immediate eviction of the occupants, who had no legal right to the land. The order followed months of complaints from the Archdiocese, which said the illegal construction had continued despite warnings.
A visit by journalists at 2:00 p.m. on the day of the scheduled eviction found a tense atmosphere: children played among rubble, residents moved about makeshift houses built from scrap materials, and the newly built mosque stood prominently within sight of the seminary.
The occupants refused to vacate, claiming they had nowhere else to go.
“If we leave here, where will we live?” one resident asked.
However, some observers have interpreted their defiance as a deliberate challenge to both Church and State authority.
This is not the first clash over Church assets in Nampula. In April, the Catholic Church demanded the urgent return of religious facilities nationalized by the state decades ago. The Archdiocese says the current wave of land grabs is part of a wider pattern of disrespect for religious institutions.
“This is not only a violation of property rights,” the Archdiocese said in a statement, “but also a grave act of disrespect toward the Catholic Church.”
