Our Lady of Africa Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dodoma. The diocese was established as a vicariate by the White Fathers in the 1930s, raised to a diocese in 1953, and elevated to an archdiocese in 2019 — a reflection of the growing weight of the central plateau in the Tanzanian church. Catholics are a strong presence in the surrounding Gogo country and the cathedral is a focal point for the wider Catholic community.
The cathedral itself is a substantial mid-twentieth-century building, simple in style but with a striking position and a large open courtyard used for major feast days. Sunday Mass draws big congregations and is sung in Swahili, often with drumming and choir.