Senegal

Senegal is named after the river that separates the forested and planted Africa from the sand and nomad Africa. It is largely a Muslim country.

Evangelization began in the 15^th and 16^th centuries by the Portuguese, with very modest results. A more effective apostolate began in 1845 with the arrival of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, who consecrated Senegal to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1847 and the next year built the first chapel dedicated to the Holy Heart of Mary, in Dakar.

Poponguine, Thies, and Mont-Roland are important Marian shrines. Poponguin is the national shrine. The nation was dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1963.

The church of Mary Queen in Thies was petitioned for in a collective prayer for 9 years.

The shrine of Mont-Roland recalls the victory of faith over fetishism practices.

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Attilio GALLI, Madre della Chiesa dei Cinque Continenti, Ed Segno, Udine, 1997, p. 731-738