Rosary Cathedral

Mwanza's pale-yellow Catholic cathedral, the seat of the city's Archdiocese and a fine landmark on the lakeshore.

The Rosary Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary) sits on a low rise above the lakeshore in the centre of Mwanza. Built by the White Fathers in the early twentieth century in a simplified Romanesque revival style, it has the typical pale-stuccoed walls, the twin square bell-towers, and the rose window above the entrance that mark missionary-era African cathedrals from the Belgian to the East African coast. The interior is plain — whitewashed walls, wooden pews, a modest stained-glass window above the altar — and the better aspect is the building from outside, looming over the harbour.

The cathedral is open between services. Sunday Mass is sung in Swahili and worth attending for the choir alone. It is a five-minute walk from the central market.

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