The Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica of Yaounde: One of Cameroon’s Sacred Memories
Text: Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo
Published on May 23, 2025
Located on Mvolyé Hill in Yaoundé, the Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica embodies a major architectural and spiritual project, at the crossroads of Christian inculturation and Cameroonian heritage. Built between 1990 and 2009 under the guidance of Archbishop Jean Zoa, it replaces an old colonial cathedral and adopts a circular, symbolic, and open architecture, incorporating local materials and craftsmanship. This study highlights the historical, cultural, artistic, and theological dimensions of the building, while advocating for its recognition as a monument of national collective memory. By combining architectural analysis, religious symbolism, and heritage preservation issues, the article shows how this basilica can become a reference center for cultural tourism, knowledge transmission, and the promotion of interethnic and interreligious dialogue.
Keywords: Minor Basilica of Yaounde, religious heritage, inculturation, sacred architecture, Jean Zoa, collective memory of Cameroon.
Image source: fr.wikipedia.org
Category: Plastic art – National religious heritage
Type: Religious architecture
Genre: Minor Basilica
Author: Community Construction (It seems that several ethnic groups in Cameroon contributed to its achievement)
Name: Mary Queen of the Apostles
Year: August 15, 1990 – March 18, 2009 (inauguration date)
Technique: Masonry
Materials: Stone, metal and wood (Bubinga and Moabi)
Dimensions: 32 meters high and 75 meters wide.
Capacity: Approximately 4,000 seats
© image: Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo, 2025.
Introduction
Religious architecture, beyond its liturgical function, serves as a powerful vehicle of identity, memory, and social cohesion. It inscribes in physical space the beliefs, founding stories, imaginaries, spirituality, and aspirations of a community. In Cameroon, the Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica of Yaounde stands out as an emblematic work that combines spirituality, heritage, and multiculturalism. This monument, erected on the Mvolyé hill, serves both as a tribute to the history of evangelization, an architectural manifesto of inculturation, and a collective work inscribed in the national memory. This text offers an in-depth analysis of this basilica as an artistic and spiritual heritage, exploring its origins, architectural design, symbolic dimensions, and its historical and identity significance.
1. Historical origins: from the Catholic mission to the basilica
The history of the basilica is rooted in the arrival of German Pallottine missionaries in Cameroon at the beginning of the 20th century. On February 13, 1901, Fathers Heinrich Vieter, Jean Jager, and their companions settled in the Mfoundi region. Welcomed by Chief Essomba Mebe, they were granted land on the Mvolyé hill. This establishment marked the beginning of a structuring evangelization project, with Father Vieter becoming its symbol when he was appointed the first bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Cameroon in 1905, headquartered at Mvolyé.
Between 1923 and 1927, a cathedral was erected on this hill. However, after several decades of use, the building showed advanced signs of deterioration. In 1990, Monsignor Jean Zoa, the first Cameroonian bishop of Yaounde and a major figure in the local Church, decided to demolish it to make way for a new Marian sanctuary. The laying of the foundation stone took place on August 15, 1990, the Feast of the Assumption, symbolically marking the link between Marian faith and the history of the Church in Cameroon. The building was consecrated as a minor basilica on December 10, 2006, by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the representative of Pope Benedict XVI, and officially inaugurated on March 18, 2009.
2. Architecture at the crossroads of faith and culture
The Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica is a remarkable work of architectural inculturation. It blends forms inspired by Christian liturgy with elements drawn from local Cameroonian cultures, aiming to root faith deeply within these traditions.
a) A symbolic and dynamic structure
The building, with its circular plan, rests on a slightly asymmetrical conical base whose axis is shifted to the right, giving the whole structure a visual and spiritual dynamic. Twelve massive columns support the edifice, symbolizing the Twelve Apostles, the foundation of the Church. This choice clearly expresses the desire to root itself in the apostolic tradition while giving a communal meaning to the construction: the Church is built by its faithful, just like the first Christian communities were.
The semi-circular metal roof is designed in a stepped fashion, leading up to a tall glazed central dome, sometimes interpreted as phallic, but which can also refer to ancestral symbols of fertility, transcendence, and openness to the divine. This openwork structure lets in light, a biblical image of the presence of God.
As Essimi Terry¹ points out, "The basilica features a parking lot and modern facilities to facilitate the reception of the faithful. It is surrounded by several religious institutions and spiritual centers, notably the Saint Paul Spiritual Center of Mvolyé. For those wishing to deepen their visit, the basilica also offers guided tours and documentation on the history of the Catholic Church in Cameroon."
b) A cultural synthesis of know-how and materials
The building combines local and imported materials: stone, metal, precious woods (bubinga and moabi), granite, and glass. This diversity reflects the desire to construct an edifice in dialogue with the territory’s resources and the craftsmanship of Cameroonian artisans. It is distinguished by the following features:
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The main altar, made of Akok Bekoé granite, takes the shape of the Abbia token, used in ritual games among the peoples of the Central region. Here, it symbolizes the alliance between the sacred and the profane, between liturgy and ancestral rites.
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The 100 m² stained glass windows are the work of French master glassmaker Henri Guérin, but created in collaboration with local requirements. They depict religious figures and traditional motifs.
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A 3.5-meter-tall Virgin, carved from sacred wood from Nkong Ondoa, dominates the space, reinforcing the Marian dimension of the building.
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The tabernacle and crucifix, made of bronze, were crafted using Bamoun artisanal techniques; the Bamoun people are renowned for their metallurgical tradition.
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The Stations of the Cross, located around the basilica, offer a profound spiritual immersion.
This basilica thus stands as a true manifesto of unity through diversity: the peoples of Cameroon, the materials, and the symbols converge towards a single spiritual center.
The semi-circular metal roof is designed in a stepped fashion, leading to a tall glazed central dome, sometimes interpreted as phallic but also capable of evoking ancestral symbols of fertility, transcendence, and openness to the divine. This openwork structure allows light to penetrate, a biblical image of the presence of God.
© image : Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo, 2025.
3. A work in the service of collective memory
Beyond its liturgical purpose, the basilica is a memorial monument. It embodies a desire to inscribe Cameroon’s religious history in stone and to pay tribute to the founding figures of the local Church.
a) Tribute to Monsignor Jean Zoa
Initiator of the project, Monsignor Jean Zoa (circa 1922 – 1998) was not merely a builder. He was also a central political and spiritual figure in contemporary Cameroon. By honoring his memory, the basilica becomes a symbolic mausoleum, a sacred tomb, an episcopal pantheon dedicated to a man who sought to unite, educate, and build. His legacy is present in every stone, every symbol, and every architectural choice.
b) Anchoring in colonial and postcolonial history
The basilica can only be fully understood within the historical context of Cameroon’s transition from a German colony to an independent state. It embodies a narrative of resistance, adaptation, and emancipation. By demolishing the old colonial cathedral to erect a sanctuary that reflects Cameroonian forms and values, the Cameroonian Church asserts its maturity and symbolic sovereignty.
c) A melting pot of religious multiculturalism
The involvement of numerous Cameroonian ethnic groups in both the design and construction of the building illustrates a communal and inclusive project. It is the Church as the people of God in action: artists, craftsmen, believers, and religious leaders joined forces to bring this sanctuary to life. Thus, the basilica becomes a symbol of peaceful coexistence and intercultural dialogue in Cameroon.
4. Heritage issues: towards national recognition
The inclusion of the Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica in Cameroon's national heritage is today a cultural and identity imperative. Beyond its liturgical function, it represents a common good carrying meaning, memory, and craftsmanship.
a) Promotion of religious heritage
Like other major African religious structures, the Mvolyé basilica must be protected, documented, and promoted as a living heritage. It can become a place of study for architects, art historians, anthropologists, and theologians.
b) Cultural and spiritual tourism
With its aesthetic and symbolic qualities, the basilica can play a leading role in the development of cultural and religious tourism in Cameroon. Heritage trails can be developed around it, in connection with other major sites in Yaounde, such as the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Cathedral and the Protestant Church of Djoungolo.
c) Transmission of knowledge
It houses ceramic mosaics created in 1998 by the ceramic workshop of the Institut de Formation Artistique (IFA) in Mbalmayo. The techniques used (ceramics, sculpture, stained glass, ironwork) carry both traditions and innovations. Documentation and transmission of this knowledge are essential to ensure their preservation.
© image : Yves Xavier Ndounda Ndongo, 2025.
Conclusion
The Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres Basilica of Yaounde is much more than a religious building: it is a work of art, a place of memory, a symbol of resilience, and a manifesto of unity in diversity. Through its original architecture, symbolic choices, and historical grounding, it embodies the effort of a Cameroonian Church in search of meaning, recognition, and transmission. It is urgent to recognize it as a key element of the national heritage, to fully integrate it into cultural policies, and to teach it as a living witness of Cameroon's collective memory.
Thus, inscribing this basilica in the national imagination means acknowledging that at the heart of the Christian faith is also woven the history of a people, their pains, their aspirations, and their most sacred dreams.
Jean Paul Messina, Jean Zoa, Prêtre, Archevêque De Yaounde 1922-1998, Paris, Karthala, 2000, 298 pages.
Fabien Eboussi Boulaga, Christianisme sans fétiche : Révélation et domination, Paris, Présence Africaine, 2000, 219 pages.
Essimi Terry, “Basilique Marie Reine des Apôtres,” article published on February 13, 2025, available at: https://ayilaa.com/fr/sites-touristiques/3577-habitat-construction-historique-basilique-marie-reine-des-apotres