Algeria: A Marian land since the 2nd century AD

Ancient Numidia (from which the Berbers are traced), today’s Algeria, was colonized by the Phoenicians long before the Christian era. In the 2nd century BC, it became part of the Roman Empire, then was evangelized in the 2nd century AD. It remained in the Roman Empire for 900 years, until the invasion of North Africa by the Arabs in the 7th century, who began the conquest and the islamization of the country.

Because of its deep Roman and Christian heritage, the Arab-Islamic conquest was felt harshly in Algeria. The conversion of Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome in the 3rd century, only increased the influence of the Church in North Africa, on these lands that had been Latinized for centuries and where civilization was advanced.

On the east coast of present-day Algeria, Carthage was the great city of St Augustine, a Christian Berber who became Bishop of Hippo, famous for his theological writings and one of the most well known Fathers and Doctors of the Church. At the time of the Muslim invasion, the Church of North Africa (present-day Algeria) was one of the first communities of the Latin Church in the world and Algerian soil was covered with Marian basilicas and other Christian shrines.

The Arab invasion and the islamization of the country, from the 7th century onwards, were carried out by force, and within a few centuries the Church of Africa was decimated, leaving only a few pockets of Berber resistance. It was not until the conquest of Algeria by France in 1830 that the Church was re-established in that region.

Algeria, an early Christian land with many martyrs, is under the protection of Our Lady of Africa (also called Our Lady of the Atlas), and even though it is mostly Muslim today, it retains a deep veneration for the Virgin Mary. When the basilica of Our Lady of Africa was built on the hills of Algiers, this prayer was inscribed above its main altar: "Our Lady of Africa pray for us and for the Muslims." This Marian invocation is still visible today in the basilica of Algiers.

The Marie de Nazareth team