Beatrice, Dona (c. 1684–1706)

Congolese religious leader, who formed her own sect, called Antonianism, and preached national unity. Name variations: Kimpa Vita, Saint Anthony. Born Kimpa Vita around 1684 in the Belgian Congo (subsequently Zaire, now Republic of Congo); died at the stake in 1706; children: one son.

Dona Beatrice rose to power in central Africa's Belgian Congo, during a period in the 17th century when the area, reduced to a Portuguese conquest, was ravaged by clan rivalry and famine. With the King Pedro IV's inability to unify the kingdom's chieftains and retake the capitol of São Salvador which had been destroyed and deserted, Beatrice established herself as a religious leader and savior of her people.

The 20-year-old Dona Beatrice claimed that, while ill, she had had a vision of Portuguese-born Saint Anthony, who appeared to her as a black man and instructed her to save the Congo through a new nationalistic religion. Beatrice then built a church and established the Antonian sect, a synthesis of European and African culture. Called Antonianism, the new religion celebrated black culture, professed that Christ had been born in the Congo, and permitted polygamy. For two years, she preached her dogma throughout the country, attracting many followers and threatening the power of the Portuguese missionaries and the Catholic Church. Hailed as a minor queen and credited with performing resurrections and other miracles, her appearances in São Salvador drew such crowds that they stimulated a period of economic growth.

But at a time when her power seemed unassailable, Beatrice brought about her own demise. She fell in love with her "Guardian Angel" in the sect, a man named Barro, by whom she became pregnant. Beatrice fled with Barro, leaving her disciples to believe she had gone to visit God and would return. When she was found with her lover and infant by the king's men, she was quickly brought to trial and sentenced to death. In July 1706, both Beatrice and Barro were burned at the stake. By some accounts, the child was killed with her. Others claim the boy was spared and baptized Jerome.

Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts