President attends Mass in honour of 100th anniversary of Agostinho Neto

 Luanda - Angolan head of State João Lourenço is participating in a Mass held in honour of the centenary of the first president of Angola, Agostinho Neto.

Also attending the Church service in Catete town, Luanda province, the Vice-President of Republic Esperança da Costa, National Assembly Speaker Carolina Cerqueira,  First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço, the widow of the founder of the Nation Maria Eugénia Neto.

Presided by Bishop Dom Afonso Nunes, leader of the Tocoista Church, the Sunday Mass is also being attended by the members of Executive, politicians and faithful from various religious congregations.

The programme is arranged by the Inter-Ecclesial Angola Commission.

Neto’s figure was exalted in recognition of his struggle for the independence of Angola and the oppressed peoples throughout the 60s until 1979, the time of his death.

Praises were made for the improvement of the lives of Angolans, peace, harmony and reconciliation of the whole nation.

In memory of the 100th anniversary of Neto, the Angolan Government has carried out various political and cultural activities in recognition of his achievements in favour of the development and well-being of the people.

António Agostinho Neto, born in Ícolo e Bengo, Luanda, on September 17, 1922, was a staunch defender of material and spiritual rights, dignity and freedom of the Angolan people, Africa and the world.

He died in Moscow, Former USSR, on September 10, 1979, victim of illness.

Physician and writer, he proclaimed national independence on November 11, 1975.

He was part of the generation of African students who would play a decisive role in the independence of their countries in what became known as the Portuguese Colonial War.

He was arrested by the International Police and Defence of the State (PIDE), of Portugal, and deported to Tarrafal, in Cabo Verde, after which he took up residence in Portugal, from where he fled into exile.

He took the helm of the Board of  MPLA, of which he has been honorary president since 1960.

On the 17th of September, Angola celebrates the Day of the National Hero and the Founder of the Nation, commemorating the day on which Agostinho Neto was born and his funeral ceremonies were held.