Polykarp Paintings at Majengo Church in Mtwara

This past Sunday Diane and I went to the Catholic church in the Majengo neighborhood of our town. We had known about this place but had never gone there even though it's very close to the main market. So as part of our getting more exercise and seeing a bit more of Mtwara before we leave, we took an early morning walk to the church from our home.

The church is known for its paintings by Fr Polykarp Uehlein, OSB, who came to Tanzania from Germany around 1963.

The paintings are wonderful! Immediately following are a photo of the altar and one of a side painting inspired by Genesis.

And below is a photo of the back of the church. The very wide grey painting which stretches all the way across is the stations of the cross. I took an individual picture of each of the fourteen stations. The depiction is striking. Because of holes and other irregularities in the wall, a few of the paintings are not entirely intact. - Earl