Notes

Source: International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), 2017. ICOMOS is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation and protection of monuments, ensembles, and sites of cultural heritage. ICOMOS is a network of experts that include architects, historians, archaeologists, art historians, geographers, anthropologists, engineers, and urban planners. ICOMOS headquarters is located in France.
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ICOMOS considers that the political and religious center of Mbanza Kongo as an outstanding example of a group of architectural structures that illustrate, the changes that came from the introduction of Christianity and the arrival of the Portuguese into Central Africa in the 15th century. There are events that influenced, contact between Central Africa and Europe, particularly Portugal. The Pope, the leader of the Catholic church, officially recognized the Kingdom of Kongo as a Catholic civilization. A Jesuit college with a library was founded in 1621 in the Kingdom of Kongo and operated until 1678 reflects the status given to Mbanza Kongo as a seat of learning. Kongo is the place wherein 1624 the first catechism was written in the Kikongo language to be used to spread Christianity across the Kingdom. Later buildings reflect not only the continuation of Christianity but also the influence of Portugal in the 19th century.
Catechism-A book that summarizes the principles of the Christian religion in the form of questions and answers.