page_title: Mombasa
section_title: Places of worship
hierarchical_section_title: Mombasa / Places of worship
caption_attribution_description: English: The year 1889 marks the beginning of Mombasa’s first “catholic mission”. Fr. Alexandre Le Roy, a French Holy Ghost Missionary (C.S.Sp), is considered the pioneer of this initiative. The first baptism took place on August 14, 1889, when Maria, the infant daughter of Diego and Natalie Pereira, was received into the Christian community. Français&#160;: Façade de la cathédrale catholique du Saint-Esprit à Mombassa.
context_page_description: Mombasa is a coastal city of Kenya along the Indian Ocean. The city is known as the white and blue city in Kenya. It is the country's oldest and second-largest city, with a population of about 1,208,333 people according to the 2019 census. Its metropolitan region is the second-largest in the country, and has a population of 3,528,940 people.
  Mombasa is a tourism-based city; it has an extra-large port and an international airport, and is an important regional tourism center. Located on the east coast of Kenya, it also is the home of one of the State House, and is considered by some as a second capital in all but name. In 2018 the local government released an edict in which the city was painted white with blue accents and the old town was painted yellow. In Mombasa County and the former Coast Province, Mombasa's situation on the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading center, and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location.
context_section_description: Mombasa has places of worship serving needs of the city's diverse communities. Christian denominations represented in the city include:
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa with Holy Ghost Cathedral, Mombasa as the main church
  Anglican Church of Kenya (Anglican Communion), with Mombasa Anglican Cathedral Church as the main church
  Presbyterian Church of East Africa
  (World Communion of Reformed Churches),
  Baptist Convention of Kenya (Baptist World Alliance),
  Assemblies of God.
  There are also many Hindu Hinduism temples  and Muslim mosques.
  A large number of Hindus visit Mombasa to pray at a number of naturally formed Lingam that have formed in the Nyali beach Gombeshwar Caves. According to local folklore, the cave-temple was found a long time ago when a group of local herders were puzzled after they noticed that one of their cows regularly released all of her milk at a specific yet random spot on the hills. They are then said to have approached some Hindu families living in the area to ask if they had any idea behind the strange behaviour by the cow. The group then teamed up, made their way to the spot and started digging. That is how they ended up stumbling into the cave where they found a 'Shiva Lingam' – an abstract representation of the Hindu God Lord Shiva, whose vehicle is Nandi (mythology). Hindus worship Lord Shiva by offering milk to a Lingam .
caption: Holy Ghost Cathedral, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa
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