Angola: from Preprovince to Province

Luanda (Angola). On 24 January 2026, Queen of Peace Preprovince (ANG), was canonically erected on  24 January 2004, was erected as a Province. The Superior of Preprovince, now Provincial, Sister Natalia Miguel, gratefully illustrates the journey traveled and, with it, the prospects of hope for the Angolan land:

January 24^th will remain etched in the history of our presence as a time of grace, grateful memory, and renewed hope. On this significant date, our Preprovince is officially erected as a Province, crowning a path built with faith, work, and discernment over 42 years. A story built by many faces and generations of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, lay people, and young people.

In a context marked by the desire to respond with missionary boldness to the emerging needs of the Church and the Salesian educational mission, the Preprovince was erected on 22 January 2004, separating from the Irmãs de São João Bosco Province of Mozambique. Since then, step by step, a rich experience of Salesian consecrated life has been consolidated, characterized by proximity to the poorest young people from the various existential and geographical peripheries. It has also consolidated through educational-pastoral service and the growth of the charism received, manifested through the increase in indigenous and lay vocations.

In recent years, the reality has grown and matured. The increase in vocations, the stability of communities, the opening of new communities, and the strengthening of apostolic works have revealed clear signs of vitality and the future of the charism in Angolan land. Today we can say that it is not just a question of numerical or structural growth, but above all of human, spiritual, and charismatic growth.

It is from this perspective that, after a careful listening and evaluation process, with the contribution of the Visiting General Councilor, Sister Paola Battagliola, of the Superior General, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, together with her Council, it was decided to elevate the Preprovince to a Province. This decision expresses the confidence of the Institute and Mother in the maturity achieved and the ability to assume with greater autonomy and responsibility, the animation, formation, and government at the service of the mission of saving young people. To Mother and her Council, we express our deep gratitude.

We know that the erection to Province is, first and foremost, an acknowledgement of the journey taken and, at the same time, an invitation to look to the future with evangelical courage. This is a new beginning that calls for co-responsibility, a spirit of communion, and renewed passion for the educational and evangelizing mission entrusted to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

We wish this new stage to be a call to renew our daily “yes”, placing young people, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, at the center of our choices. Like Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello, we want to continue to be a presence that generates life in the heart of our times. We want to be, like Mary, women attentive to the signs of the times, capable of intervening and accompanying young people, offering them hope and prospects for the future.

May this new “Mary Queen of Peace” Province be for all who inhabit it a home that welcomes, a school that educates, and a courtyard where joy is lived, for the glory of God and the good of Angolan youth.

May Mary, Queen of Peace unarmed and disarming, accompany our journey of consolidation!