120 Atlantic African, American, and European Backgrounds to Contact, Commerce, and Enslavementhappen to his devotees. She convinced them that her arrival
meant that the Kongolese could have saints of their own,
just as the Europeans did. So far, the Capuchines insisted
that the Catholic Church had its origins outside Kongo
and that the most important saints of the country, Saint
Anthony of Padua and Saint Francis, were Italians, just like
them. Th erefore, black Kongolese saints do not exist.
In Dona Beatriz’s visions, God revealed to her the real
church history that the Capuchin missionaries were hiding
from the Kongolese. Jesus had been born in São Salvador.
He had been baptized in Nazareth, but this was only a fake
name for his real place of baptism, which was located in the
northern Kongolese province of Nsundi. Also, Mary was
Kongolese and her mother, Anna, was a slave of the Marquis
Nzimba Mpangi. Saint Francis was also of Kongolese origin
and Saint Anthony was now present within her body.
Father Bernardo da Gallo witnessed one of Dona Be-
atriz’s possessions by Saint Anthony. Although Kongolese
regarded possession as an acceptable form of revelation,
the Catholic priest considered the practice as diabolic.
Furthermore, the European Christian tradition does not
accept that a divine revelation comes from a possession.
Only the devil can possess the human body and a rite of
exorcism is the remedy. So Dona Beatriz was most likely
possessed by the devil or a demon, not by Saint Anthony.
Since Pedro IV refused to see her in Kibangu, she de-
cided to visit his rival King João II at Bula (near the Kongo
River close to Matadi) in October 1704. But João II chased
Dona Beatriz and her followers away. Her experiences in
Bula and Kibangu showed her that the Kongolese nobility
was not interested in her vision of restoring and reuniting
the country, while the common people were eager to sup-
port her. Th ey saw in her the ideal ruler, a social revolution-
ary and a peacemaker. She would use her kindoki to fi ght
against the greed and violence of the ruling kings.
In 1705, Dona Beatriz and thousands of her mostly
peasant followers returned to São Salvador. She was now
the undisputed mistress of the royal capital and determined
to fulfi ll her mission of restoration. Rumors of her pow-
ers had spread throughout the country. She built herself a
small house behind the ruins of the cathedral and started
preaching from there. To help her with her work, she began
to commission her “Little Anthonys,” who were to become
Saint Anthony’s missionaries all over the country. Each of
the Little Anthonys would be as much possessed by the
saint as Dona Beatriz herself, but keeping a lower status.Virgin told Mafuta that Jesus was particularly angry with
the people of Kibangu for not coming down to restore the
old city of São Salvador and God would punish the Kongo-
lese for their wickedness. Jesus’s anger, so learned Mafuta in
her visions, was specially directed toward King Pedro IV.
In August 1704, as Apollonia Mafuta’s ministry went
on, Dona Beatriz fell ill with a mysterious sickness. She later
reported to Fra Bernardo da Gallo that she died and that
she was reborn as Saint Anthony. Th e Saint had entered her
dead body, and she received the divine commandment to
go and preach. She followed the example of the Capuchins
and distributed her personal property. She set off to preach
to the king in Kibangu, but Pedro IV refused to see her. She
argued that neither the king nor the Capuchin priest Fra
Bernardo were determined enough to restore the kingdom
and therefore she would do it herself. Apollonia Mafuta
supported her, claiming that she was the real voice of God.
Both women preached against greed and jealousy and the
misuse of kindoki.
Dona Beatriz claimed that she died each Friday and
spent two days in Heaven talking to God, just to return
to earth on Mondays. While in this state, she learned that
Kongo must reunite under a new king. Th e civil war that
had plagued Kongo since the battle of Mbwila in 1665 had
angered Christ. God ordered her to build a specifi c Kongo-
lese Catholicism and to unite the country under one king.
She destroyed the Kongolese nkisi (charms inhabited by
spiritual entities), as well as Christian paraphernalia.
Much of Dona Beatriz’s teaching is known from her
prayer, “Salve Antoniana,” that converted the Catholic
prayer “Salve Regina” into an anthem of her movement. It
taught that God was only concerned with believers’ inten-
tions and not with actual sacraments or good works. She
continued her teaching through several sermons. Th ese
sermons focused on three important issues. First, that
Saint Anthony, the patron of Portugal, was the most im-
portant saint of all, in fact, a “second God.” Together with
Saint James Major, he was also the patron of Kongo. She
demanded to her followers that they should only pray to
him. Specially, infertile women should devote themselves
to him, since he can relieve them from sterility. Second, she
reconfi rmed Mafuta’s vision, saying that Jesus was angry
with the Kongolese people and they have to expect severe
punishment. She urged that her followers should pray and
ask for mercy. Th ird, she told the Kongolese to be happy.
Saint Anthony would protect them and good things would