The tomb of the only cardinal from the country was desecrated in Brazzaville

Unidentified people desecrated the tomb of Emile Biayenda, the only cardinal from the Congo assassinated in 1977, announced the archdiocese of Brazzaville in a statement received Sunday by AFP. “On the night of December 23 to 24, there was desecration of the tomb of our venerated pastor, Cardinal Emile Biayenda”, thus indicates the archdiocese.

“By a miracle from Heaven and thanks to the genius of our elders who put a fairly solid security device on the tomb, the cardinal’s body was neither disturbed nor approached”, according to this press release signed by Father Michel Bordan Bebert Kimbouani Tsoki, chancellor of the archbishopric of Brazzaville.

Third desecration this year

The cardinal’s tomb is located within the grounds of the Sacré-Coeur Cathedral, in the center of Brazzaville. Images circulating on social media show that the gate that protects the grave has been damaged. A religious source also indicated that this desecration was the third in 2021. “We do not know the motivations of these people,” she added on condition of anonymity. “The judicial police were seized and are carrying out their investigations as they should in such circumstances”, affirms the archbishopric in his press release.

Cardinal Emile Biayenda was killed in 1977, at the age of 50, a few days after the assassination of the third president of Congo, Marien Ngouabi (1968-1977). The circumstances and motives for the cardinal’s assassination have never been elucidated and his assassins never identified. No cardinal of Congolese nationality has been appointed since.