'Pope Leo’s visit is an unparalleled moment for us'

By Dulce Araújo

“Being elderly is a great blessing. It is wonderful to spend time with grandparents... Let’s value life.”

This is the message Georgina Mwandumba leaves for Angolans in her interview with Vatican News, in which she presents the home she has been directing for seven years, years that seemed to fly by given the genuine joy she experiences working with the elderly. 

Trained in social assistance for childhood, former Provincial Governor, Daniel F. Neto, identified her as the person suitable to manage the home, which has existed for 14 years and belongs to the Angolan State.

Good relations with the Church

Ms. Mwandumba emphasizes that they have excellent relations with the Church, which, besides providing spiritual support to the residents, also makes donations to help with operations. Financial contributions also come from associations and benefactors, but it is mainly the monthly state contribution, though below what is needed, that keeps the Home running.

The elderly practice some agriculture on vacant land as a pastime and as a way to contribute to their sustenance. But everything they need, from food to healthcare, is provided by the Home. In fact, the Home’s Health Post even serves residents of nearby villages.

Arranged in two wings, one female, one male, the Home is taking on a new look for the Pope’s visit, and some services the director had long requested, such as connection to Saurimo’s electricity grid (rather than a generator) and piped water, are now a reality and make life easier, notes Mrs. Georgina, already seeing this as a blessing brought by the Pope’s visit: “Oh, oh, a blessing fallen from Heaven, and we are already happy!” 

The Home for the Elderly in Saurimo, Angola {"@context": "http://schema.org","@type": "ImageObject","contentUrl": "https://www.vaticannews.va/content/dam/vaticannews/multimedia/2026/aprile/07/ANGOLA---LAR-DE-IDOSOS---SAURIMO---IDOSOS-HOMENS-E-MULHERES.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.thumbnail.cropped.750.422.jpeg","creditText": "Vatican News","height": "750","width": "422"} Witchcraft and family abandonment

The home is about 10 km from Saurimo city. The 74 elderly residents, 42 of whom are women, are aged between 60 and 93, though sometimes they appear much older, arriving in poor physical condition, brought by the police who they turn to for protection from abuse by relatives who abandon them, accusing them of witchcraft.

However, in Georgina's opinion, this is increasingly becoming an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for caring for the elderly. Hence, she appeals to society to value the elderly and considers the Pope’s visit to these “rejected” people “an immense lesson.” She even shares her own positive experiences with her grandparents.

These elderly residents are happy at the Home, get along with one another, and attend Mass together, even if not all are Catholic, but there is no doubt they would prefer to be with their families, who unfortunately do not even visit, reveals the somewhat saddened director.

Pope Leo’s visit to the Home

The Pope’s visit to the Home on the morning of April 20, 2026, will therefore be a moment of great joy for these men and women, who will be the center of attention on that day. Preparations to welcome the important guest are well underway: speakers representing everyone, songs, and other surprises. Who knows—this visit might also lead to the creation of a chapel within the Home, where currently spiritual assistance is not provided by a chaplain but by priests who come to celebrate Mass on Sundays in a small room arranged for this purpose.

In this facility, organized into two wings, one female and one male, with three or at most four residents per room, the director dreams of having more staff to care for the elderly. Currently, there is a director, an administrator, a social worker, and some kitchen and cleaning staff.

However, what worries Ms. Mwandumba most is ending the absurd practice of witchcraft accusations and their use as a pretext to abandon the elderly. “We are believers, we go to Church,” she says, “to believe that there is a being, a witch or wizard, capable of overcoming God’s blessing is disbelief, not faith!”

When asked about the connection between this issue and the theme of the Pope’s visit to Angola—“Pilgrim of Hope, Reconciliation, and Peace”—Georgina recalls that “peace must begin in our families.”

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