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Holy Ghost Mission is located in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The pioneer mission was established by the Holy Ghost Fathers. The original Holy Ghost Church, built in 1872, is reportedly the oldest church on the mainland of East Africa, while the new church was built 1910-1914. In 1874, David Livingstone was interred for a night at the Holy Ghost Mission; the Livingstone Tower, a part of the original church, is named in his honor. There are several other buildings on the mission grounds, including the Old Fathers' House, which was the residence for the missionaries. The three-storey building features a wide balcony and is built in pre-colonial mission style. The grounds also include a cemetery, a grotto (built in 1876), and a museum. The Missionay complex is located to the north of the Bagamoyo town. ==History== In 1868, Father Antoine Horner of the Holy Ghost Fathers who was looking for a location in the main land of East Africa to establish the first Roman Catholic mission came to Bagamoyo and decided to establish the mission here. At that time itself it was cosmopolitan town with its local ethnic groups and also people from Arabia, India, Muslim countries, Parsees, Goa and Europe. It was a trade centre and was well known for its slave trade. The land required for the mission was gifted by Muslims under the leadership of Sultan Majid in 1868 itself. Soon thereafter, the first church was built in 1872, after establishing the mission, as a simple towered structure of French design but with local materials. With its many arches and pinnacles, the tower resembles a mitre. This "squat tower" has since been renamed as Livingston tower. Father's residence (a triple storied building with wide balcony) was also built at the time in the local style with mangrove wood floor and roof, and coral stone walls of a precolonial style of architecture. It has open arches on its periphery and has no resemblance to the German colonial architecture. The Sisters' Convent was also built in the same style.〔 During this time cholera epidemic had also affected the town and people took refuge in the mission complex. The objective of the French Missionaries, who founded the mission here, was to free slaves from their bonded labour, which though initially had limited success but generated awareness to further the cause of an Awareness Movement of the east African Slave Trade.〔 In 1892, another large gift of land of was made to the mission by Sewa Haji, the Muslim philanthropist and a very rich trader (who traded in cloth, copper, gunpowder, ivory and rhino horn and who also owned and arranged caravans). This enabled the mission to enlarge its building complex.〔 In 1910-14, before World War I, a bigger Romanesque church, named the New Holy Ghost Church, was built with dressed coral stone blocks.〔 A cemetery was also established about away from the main mission building where early missionaries are buried. A grotto was built by the "emancipated slaves" who lived in the mission. There are also some exotic trees in the grounds of the mission which were planted early during the missionaries began their mission.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Holy Ghost Mission (Bagamoyo)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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