In 1930, the faithful arrived not only from all corners of Algeria, but also from France and elsewhere, climbing the hill barefoot, reciting the rosary aloud. Pilgrims sought consolation, protection, healing from Our Lady of Africa, made a vow or came to fulfil it: soldiers would gather there before entering the field to pray to “the Mother of the God of armies”, fishermen would have their nets blessed, Muslim women would address invocations to Lalla Meryem. People went there to bring a gift after a good harvest, to renew the promises of baptisms, to have young children blessed. On the esplanade, some men would take a cool drink, others would offer a candle or a bouquet of flowers and bring holy water, and young Catholic and sometimes Jewish brides would place their wreaths of orange blossoms on the esplanade. While no miracle is a priori at the origin of the foundation of the sanctuary in this place, history however, associates it with the place of the liberation of several Christian slaves, through the intercession of the Virgin. [Calixtus of Providence, 1892]. The exvotos of the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, most of which express the gratitude of certain people to Our Lady of Africa for having seen their vows come true through her intercession, tell us much about the extent of this devotion to the one that the Algerians call Madame l’Afrique or Lalla Meryem. This is still visible on the faces of the elders who witnessed it first hand. Even today, many people still come to confide in his intercession, by lighting a candle or making a silent prayer. This shrine remains a privileged place, as did Lavigerie, for meetings, dialogues and sharing with Muslims.
This devotion to Our Lady of Africa, like all Marian devotions, has its origin in the recognition of Mary’s place in God’s plan, since the experience of the first Christian community. First of all, the resurrection, made the first disciples discover that Jesus was truly God, and from there on, they constituted the stories of his childhood, and this contemplation of the child-Jesus-God, shed light on Mary’s place in Jesus’ mission: She is the Mother of God. And as we have heard, under the cross, Jesus reminds Mary and us that she is also our mother. She will then remain with the apostles, maternal presence in their midst, certainly accompanies them, encourages them, advises them in their mission, as a mother does to her children since under the cross Jesus asked her to do so. Mary, in giving birth to Jesus, did not finish her role as a theatre character would, who must go behind the curtain and let the others play their roles, but she continues to give birth, to make them grow and to advise those whom Jesus gave her as sons and daughters. It was therefore necessary that she be given the same maternal task, for the missionaries who were to bring the Good News to Africa, for the Africans and for all the Muslims who already honoured her as Mother of the Prophet. Since she was also offered to us as mother under the name of Our Lady of Africa, may she accompany us Africans, we Missionaries of Africa, in our task of proclaiming the Good News to the African world. May she watch over Africa, may she intercede for all her children throughout the world and especially at this time when every frightened child would do well to seek refuge and security in the arms of his mother.