History behind the Navrongo Minor Basilica Church & Museum. Navrongo has some of the best tourist attractions in Ghana. #visit #travel #UpperEastRegion #fyp #fypシ @visitbolga Hi...
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Attraction
Navrongo Minor Basilica
A mud-brick Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in Navrongo, listed by the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board as the last of its kind in Ghana.
Why visit
About Navrongo Minor Basilica
The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, widely known as the Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral or the "Mud Cathedral," is a Roman Catholic cathedral and minor basilica in Navrongo, in the Kasena Nankana Municipal District of Ghana's Upper East Region. It serves as the seat of the Diocese of Navrongo–Bolgatanga. The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, which lists it as a heritage site, describes it as the last building of its kind in Ghana and as a meeting of European architecture with local construction techniques.
The building is constructed entirely of mud bricks and plastered with mud mortar. It measures 60 metres long and 14 metres wide, with a 13-metre-high central bell tower above the entrance porch and two smaller towers flanking it. The interior has two rows of columns, and the floor is a mixture of compacted gravel, cowdung and dawa-dawa (yam bean). The roof is pitched corrugated iron sheet. On the walls, Nankani-Kassena imagery is combined with Catholic symbolism, work created by women in the Navrongo community from 1973 onwards.
The White Fathers — Fathers Chollet and Morin and Brother Eugene — arrived in April 1906. A first small chapel followed in 1907, a larger community chapel in 1910, and the cathedral was completed in 1920. It became the Mother Parish of Northern Ghana, attained cathedral status in 1934, and was elevated to a minor basilica on 17 May 2006.
The site also contains a grotto and accommodation facilities, and a Basilica Museum operates on the premises. The compound is used for religious ceremonies and community gatherings. Beyond these, no cafe, shop, restrooms or parking are documented in the sources reviewed, so visitors should not assume such services.
The cathedral is in Navrongo town; published coordinates of roughly 10.8842 N, 1.0779 W are feature coordinates for the building rather than a confirmed visitor entrance. The parish listing gives a postal address of Box 4, Navrongo, and a telephone number, +233 03821-22161. Opening hours, entry fees and guided-tour arrangements are not documented in the sources reviewed and should be confirmed with the parish before travelling.
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Navrongo Basilica Museum
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Within 50 m from Navrongo Minor Basilica · straight line
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Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, Navrongo
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About 80 m from Navrongo Minor Basilica · straight line
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Navrongo Palace
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Navrongo Central Market
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Sources and checks
- Name: Ghana Museums and Monuments Board — Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral Building · Checked September 27, 2026
- Description: Ghana Museums and Monuments Board — Old Navrongo Catholic Cathedral Building · Checked September 27, 2026
- Location: Wikipedia - Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows, Navrongo · Checked September 27, 2026