Burkina Faso Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Several thousand pilgrims from 17 dioceses in Burkina Faso and neighboring Niger came to honor the Virgin Mary during the traditional pilgrimage to Our Lady of Yagma, which this year had as its theme: “The Church family of God, with Mary, proclaims the Gospel of mercy and peace.”

As Mass begins, Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou and President of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), observed a minute of silence for the victims of terrorist attacks, and asked everyone to pray for the “conversion of terrorists and evil forces.”

During the ceremony, Burkina Faso was specially consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the spirit of the promises of the Blessed Virgin who appeared in Fatima a little over a century ago, in 1917.

“The bishops of the conference, also responding to the requests of the people of God, have decided to consecrate our country, Burkina Faso, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Yagma. This act is an act of trust, faith, and hope, that with Mary who intercedes for us, God will give us victory over evil, over sin, and over our divisions,” declared Msgr. Laurent Dabiré, Bishop of Dori and president of the Episcopal Conference of Burkina-Niger.

The sanctuary of Our Lady of Yagma—established as a minor basilica in 2013—is located on a hill, ten kilometers north of Ouagadougou.

A laterite reproduction of the grotto at Lourdes recalls the Marian imprint on a place officially proclaimed in 1988 as the “national pilgrimage center” by the Episcopal Conference of Burkina-Niger.