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30 Apr, 14 tweets, 3 min read

The story of the Congolese delegation sent to Europe by the King of Kongo to see the pope in 1604 #Thread

Illustration of Antonio Manuel, Marquis of Ne Vund. Photo: Captain Dacosta

One of the most famous ancient African kingdoms is the Kingdom of Kongo that covered modern-day northern Angola, the Republic of the Congo, western Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon.

Religion was a huge part of the kingdom that the King Nzinga a Nkuwu and his son Afonso were baptised as Catholics in 1491. King Nzinga was given the name King Joao after Portugal’s king.

When King Nzinga died around 1506, King Afonso took over and under him, Christianity became the kingdom’s official religion. He also set up a viable version of Roman Catholicism in the Kongo,

supporting it with funds from the royal coffers and training people to become clergy in the church. King Afonso’s own son Henrique ended up in Europe for training as a priest in 1518 and was ordained as the bishop of Utica,

João I of Kongo. Photo: Wiki CC

a town located in northwest Kongo.

The encroachment of Portugal in the Kingdom obstructed its connection with Rome and in 1570 when Portugal moved into Angola, King Afonso was forced to reestablish a connection with Rome as he saw the Pope as an ally.

At this time, Pope Clement VIII’s interest in Africa was on the rise. He requested for the presence of Kongo ambassadors in Rome in 1569. However, it was not possible for the ambassadors to make this visit until 1604.

King Alvaro II, who had taken over the reign in 1587, sent his cousin, Antonio Manuel, Marquis of Ne Vunda to the pope. The journey took more than three years via Brazil, Lisbon and Madrid before landing in Rome.

King Alvaro II of Kongo. Photo: EgyptSearch

By this time, Pope Clement VIII had died and was replaced by Pope Paul V, who was just as eager to meet the delegation. He even arranged an elaborate protocol for Antonio’s entrance in 1608.

The protocol included receiving the delegation at Sala Regia at the Vatican, a procession and the feast of the Magi.

However, Antonio was really sick when he arrived in Rome on Jan 2, 1608. He was put in a bed in a comfortable room in the papal apartments and was even

visited by the pope. However, he died three days later and the procession set for Jan 6 turned into a befitting funeral.

Pope Paul V made sure the whole process was documented and commissioned a bust of Antonio, made from coloured marble with a deep green-black stone and

featuring the shirt worn by nobles and a quiver of arrows. Antonio’s memory has also been immortalised in two engravings in 1608 such as Guillermus Du

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Mortier bust and an engraving featuring Antonio in elegant European garb, holding a document presumed to be a letter from King Alvaro II to the pope.

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2 May

The Ethiopian bible is the oldest and most complete bible on earth. #Thread

They were written on goat skin in the early Ethiopian language of Ge’ez. It is also World’s first illustrated Christian Bible.

The Ethiopian bible dating analysis dated Garima 2 to be written around 390-570, and Garima 1 from 530-660. During the Italian invasion fire was set in the monastery in the 1930s to destroy the monastery’s church nevertheless the Bible survive.

The original Christianity of Egypt was established by the apostle Mark in AD 42 in Ethiopia (Coptic Church--Coptic Orthodox Christianity) where it spread to Europe and some part of Asia. Today We have been told Christianity came from Rome.

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2 May

The name Europe (Yu-rup) is African in origin. In fact, it originates from the Dogon language. Though the Dogon today live in a small part of Central Mali, they once had a culture that expanded across much of the Sahara. #Thread

The Dogon culture once expanded into the Sahara and included the ancient African astronomers of the Central Sahara in the region of Tassili and northern Niger.

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Around 600 bce, the Kemetyu began allowing the Hellens (pre-Greeks) to enter its schools as a trade off for gaining Greek soldiers in their continuing fight with the Assyrians and Achemenids.

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2 May

"The Ethiopian Bible is the oldest and complete bible on earth. Written in Ge’ez, an ancient language of Ethiopia, it’s nearly 800 years older than the King James Version and contains 81-88 books compared to 66."

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"It includes the Book of ENOCH, Esdras, Buruch and all 3 Books of MACCABEE, and a host of others that were eliminated from the KJV."

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Support @Africa_Archives platform, @Africa_Archives is aiming at purchasing a best quality camera to capture and document photos within Africa which will always be posted on our platform, you can take part in making this possible by donating. Thank you paypal.com/donate?hosted_…

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1 May

Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was only a few meters from the finish line, but got confused with the signs and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. A Spanish man, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him and, realizing what was going on...

started shouting to the Kenyan to keep running. Mutai did not know Spanish and did not understand. Realizing what was going on, Ivan Fernandez pushed Mutai to victory. A reporter asked Ivan, "Why did you do this?" Ivan replied

My dream is that one day we can have some sort of community life where we push ourselves and help each other win." The reporter insisted "But why did you let the Kenyan win?" Ivan replied, "I didn't let him win, he was going to win. The race was his."

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30 Apr

Pope Francis Apologizes for Church’s Role in Rwandan Genocide #Thread

Pope Francis (r) with the Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the Vatican. Vatican Radiio

Pope Francis officially apologized for the role the Catholic Church played in the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left close to 1 million people dead. The pontiff pleaded for forgiveness for the crimes committed by the church against the people of Rwanda during the genocide.

“He [the Pope] implored anew God’s forgiveness for the sins and failings of the Church and its members, among whom priests, and religious men and women who succumbed to hatred and violence, betraying their own evangelical mission,” a statement issued by the Vatican read in part

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30 Apr

Meet Alessandro, the son of an African slave woman whose father became a pope #Thread

Alessandro de' Medici

Born in 1510 in the Italian city of Urbino, Alessandro de’ Medici’s mother was an African slave named Simonetta who was serving in the Medici household.

His father, according to historians, was Cardinal Giulio de Medici, who later became Pope Clement VII.

The Medicis were an Italian family of rulers, merchants, bankers, patrons and collectors. They dominated the political and cultural life of Florence from the 15th century to the mid 18th century. In 1494-1512 and 1527-30, they were expelled from Florence.

Pope Clement VII

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