Paroisse de Sainte-Anne

Paroisse de Sainte-Anne (French for "Saint Anne's Parish") or Église Sainte-Anne ("Saint Anne's Church") is a Roman Catholic parish church located near the Central Station in Gombe, Kinshasa, belonging to the Saint Pierre Deanery of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Founded in 1903 as a small mission outpost served by Congolese catechists from the Catholic St. Leopold mission parish in Kintambo, it gradually grew into one of the city's most historically significant churches.

In 1912, Msgr. Van Ronsle commissioned Father Remi Calon to build a cathedral south of the railway station, and construction began in June under Father René Reygaerts. The foundation stone was laid the following year, and on 16 October 1915 the first Mass was held in the still-unfinished structure, an event possibly inspired by the recent opening of a nearby British Baptist church on Avenue Van Gèle. Completed in 1917, the brick church was characterized by its red masonry and neo-Gothic arcades. That same year, Father Raphaël de la Kethulle de Ryhove arrived and went on to play a pivotal role in the development of education for Congolese youth and the promotion of football associations across the city. The current structure, completed in 1965, was the first major architectural achievement of Brother Jos Smets. Sainte-Anne served as the cathedral and episcopal seat for Bishops Joris Six, Félix Scalais, and Joseph Malula until 1972, when this role passed to Cathédrale Sainte-Marie de Lingwala (also called Cathédrale du Centenaire), dedicated to Our Lady of the Congo. In 1988, after the Congregation of the Fathers of Scheut transferred the parish to the archdiocese, Cardinal Malula appointed Father Pierre Baza as parish priest, succeeding Father André Marchal; Baza became the parish's first Black pastor. He was succeeded in August 1998 by Father Antoine Ntoto Vangu.

Today, the church compound includes the Missions Procuracy, Collège Saint-Joseph, and the parish church itself. Over the course of more than a century, Sainte-Anne has become a central landmark in Kinshasa, hosting major thanksgiving services tied to important moments in the Catholic Church and the Congolese nation. Every 11 November, the Belgian community in Kinshasa gathers there with the Belgian ambassador to sing the Te Deum in honor of the King of the Belgians.