Muanda, December 17th, 2025 (CPA).- The 130th anniversary of the Catholic school ‘Mbuetete ya M’BU’, covering the period from 1895 to December 17th, 2025, was celebrated on Wednesday at the school in Muanda, Kongo Central (south-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo), during a thanksgiving mass, the CPA reported. « The Mbuetete ya M’BU secondary school, which means star of the sea, is the first secondary school in the Muanda territory, after the Saint-Louis primary school, a Catholic school located by the ocean and run by the Sisters of Charity and Mary. We give thanks to God for his blessings, because this school has educated the country’s elite and is a pilot school that has brought together several generations, » said Jean-Claude Mambimbi Mbamba, Bishop of the Diocese of Boma. « There is a link between Mary Immaculate and the Mbuetete ya M’BU secondary school. This name is synonymous with radiance, light, star and mission. As St Bernard said: “Look at the star, invoke Mary”, » he added, emphasizing the spiritual and symbolic significance of this educational institution before inviting the school community to preserve the Christian values on which the school is founded.
For her part, the administrator of the Muanda territory, Amina Panda, praised the longevity and impact of the school in educating local and national youth. ‘As Muanda’s first secondary school, many executives from this entity and the Democratic Republic of Congo were trained there, always in the same spirit, in harmony with the vision of the Head of State, who has made education his priority,’ she said. Speaking in turn, former teacher at Lycée Mbuetete ya M’BU, Mathieu Liufa, traced the historical development of this establishment. « Founded in 1895 under the leadership of the Sisters of Charity and Jesus and Mary, who had been present in Congo since 1892, the school initially functioned as a school colony in Muanda with nursery, primary and secondary sections. It was then called Sainte-Thérèse School, in memory of a former headmistress who accompanied the children through primary school, » he explained. According to him, changes in enrolment and educational needs led to the creation of new sections, notably home economics and teaching, under the leadership of Sister Marie Godwin, before the establishment took the name Lycée Mbuetete ya M’BU, meaning star of the sea, at the time of Zairianisation. ‘Subsequently, the commercial and administrative section, as well as the Latin-mathematics, biology-chemistry and hospitality sections, were created, strengthening the educational offering of this school,’ he concluded. ACP/