Ave Maria Mission

Ave Maria Mission in Western Equatoria is both a Catholic parish centre and an established Marian shrine. The Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostle, which operates the mission within the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, describes Ave Maria as a long-established mission among the Zande people and as the main Marian shrine in the area.

Its 2021 annual report places the mission at Ngboko and describes a parish with multiple outstations alongside the shrine and the MCSPA community centre. The mission’s sacred life includes documented Marian devotion rather than a verified apparition or miracle claim. In February 2023 MCSPA reported a three-hour rosary procession held in preparation for Ave Maria’s centenary celebrations, with an image of Our Lady beginning a journey through outstations of Ave Maria and neighbouring St. Thomas Parish.

Other MCSPA reports describe sustained rosary prayer and pastoral gatherings. The compound also includes the Magnificat Pilgrims’ Center, which has been used both for religious hospitality and, during insecurity, as shelter for displaced people. MCSPA publications from different years are not fully consistent about the exact founding year of the mission, although they agree that it dates from roughly a century ago.

To avoid turning that inconsistency into a false precision, the established field is left blank. Ave Maria is included because its role as a regional Marian shrine and pilgrimage-oriented Catholic centre is directly documented by the religious community responsible for it.