🕊️ Intelligence Brief: Catholic Church of Tanzania Launches Historic Novena for Peace and Justice Ahead of 2025 Elections
Ujasusi Blog’s East Africa Monitoring Team | 23 August 2025 | 0300 BST
🔍 Executive Summary
Between 15 and 24 August 2025, the Catholic Church in Tanzania conducted an unprecedented nationwide Novena, culminating in a two-day national prayer vigil from Saturday 23 August to Sunday 24 August 2025 at multiple locations, including the high-profile centre San Damiano, Msimbazi, under the guidance of the St. Padre Pio Prayer Centre. The theme — "Haki na Amani" (Justice and Peace) — was reinforced through 20 liturgical and devotional activities, including Mass, Adoration, the Rosary of Divine Mercy, and meditations on justice.
While peace-focused prayers have precedent, the explicit invocation of justice is novel and reveals deepening ecclesiastical concern over:
Curtailing of electoral freedoms ahead of the 28 October 2025 general elections.
This unprecedented mobilisation — through prayer, liturgy, and symbolic vigil — affirms the Catholic Church’s transformation from cautious observer to moral bulwark amid Tanzania’s deteriorating political climate.