WI: Kongo run by female Saint Anthony

And yes, the title is somewhat clickbait.

Just learned about Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita, an 18th-century prophetess in the Kongo kingdom. I quote the Wikipedia article below, but the TLDR is that she believed to be possessed by Saint Anthony, that she was the voice of God, and that Jesus and other figures of Christian mythology were all actually Kongoese. She became a player in the Kongolese civil war until she was burned as a heretic after two years.

If she unites Kongo what will happen?

During an illness in 1704 she claimed to have received visions of St. Anthony of Padua, and when, as she reported to Father Bernardo, she died and St. Anthony entered her body and took over her life. She began to preach, and Appolonia Mafuta supported her, claiming that she was the real voice of God. From that point onward, she believed she had a special connection to God, among other things, she died each Friday and spent the weekend in Heaven talking with God, to return to earth on Mondays. While in this state, she learned that Kongo must reunite under a new king, for the civil wars that had plagued Kongo since the battle of Mbwila in 1665 had angered Christ. She was ordered to build a specific Congolese Catholicism and unite the Congo under one king. She destroyed "idols", the various Kongo Nkisi or charms inhabited by spiritual entities, as well as Christian paraphernalia. When she took her message to King Pedro IV, he considered it, but refused to hear her. She then went to visit his rival João II at Mbula (near the Congo River close to modern Matadi), who also refused to hear her. However, in short time she was able to gather a significant number of followers and became a factor in the struggle of power. Her movement recognized the papal primate but was hostile against the European missionaries in Congo.

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Much of her teaching is known from the Salve Antoniana, her prayer that converted the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) a Catholic prayer, into an anthem of the movement. Among other things, the Salve Antoniana taught that God was only concerned with believers intentions not with sacraments or good works, and that Saint Anthony was the greatest one, in fact, a "second God." In addition, she taught that the principal characters in Christianity, including Jesus, Mary and Saint Francis, were all born in Kongo and were in fact Kongolese. She upbraided the Catholic priests for refusing to acknowledge this.

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Kimpa Vita was captured near her hometown and burned at the temporary capital of Evululu as a heretic in 1706 by forces loyal to Pedro IV. She was tried under Kongo law as a witch and a heretic, with the consent and counsel of the Capuchin friars Bernardo da Gallo and Lorenzo da Lucca.​
 
That feel when you read the title and know what it means :D

I think there a lot of factors that augur ill for Kempa Vita -- among them the "recognize the papal primate despite being intractable heretics" thing. There is also the "I have to convince a King to sign on to this" and the "the Portuguese will probably back the other side" problem...

If she can amass enough armed followers -- and switch from "new king" to "I will be ruler" -- she'll be able to avoid getting bogged down in the Pedro-or-Joao problem. She'd still have to beat the other factions and figure out the whole Pope problem, but there'd be a fighting chance, at least.
 
The Kongo "Joan of Arc"

I don't think she could be able to unite the country under her personal rule, even if us Kongo are a matrilineal society. OTL, she had difficulty converting the multiple pretenders and King Pedro IV to her movement. Remember that Pedro took his distances from her "Antonian cult" because of its mix of Animism and Catholicism that made her suspicious with the Portuguese and missionaries. That and the fact that Pedro's lieutenant Pedro Constantinho da Silva deserted him to serve her cause (and rebelled, making her a de facto traitor) alienated her the King's support.

So to answer your question, could she unite the Kongo people and drove out the Portuguese. Yes, she could but it is going to be difficult. A good step would be to have her gain the support of a pretender. Since the battle of Mbwila in 1665 (Ambuila), the crown is up for grabs. The French Wikipedia mentioned that she supported Dom Francisco de Menezes Nkanka a Makaya, the son and heir of King Antonio I (our equivalent of King Sebastian of Portugal) and called Pedro a "false king". Then again other factors comes like D.Francisco wasn't really like by people and himself was not confident in his claim to the throne. If she could convince him though, then her movement will gain legitimacy and a good base.

If she managed to rally the nation then and whole political and diplomatic battle is to be engaged with the Portuguese who viewed Kongo as a vassal state, if its monarchs were Catholic and recognized by the Pope, maybe a King who understand the ways of the whites could be helpful.....
 
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