Regina Mundi, Catholic church in Rockville, Soweto, South Africa

Regina Mundi is a church in Rockville, Soweto, notable for its distinctive A-shaped exterior structure. The interior is decorated with stained glass windows that depict scenes from Mary's life throughout the space.

Regina Mundi was built in 1964 to replace Moroka's former parish church. Because political meetings were banned, it became a main meeting place for Soweto residents, and funerals often turned into political gatherings. During the 1976 Soweto uprising, police entered the church and fired live ammunition; no one was killed, but many were injured and the marble altar and statue of Christ were damaged. From 1995 to 1998 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission met here under Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and a restoration campaign raised 1.5 million rands.

The Black Madonna painting from 1973 shows Mary and Jesus with African features, representing how the local community sees itself in religious art. This image connects Christian tradition with the faith and culture of the people who worship here.

The church stands in Rockville, in the Moroka section of Soweto, with a park, fountain and memorials laid out in front of it after the end of apartheid. Visitors reach it from central Johannesburg by road; the annual commemoration of the 1976 uprising is held here every 16 June, and 30 November is marked as Regina Mundi Day.

The large eye beneath the Black Madonna in Larry Scully's 1973 painting carries a coded message: its pupil stands for Soweto, two forks aimed at it for the violence used against residents under apartheid, and the cross at its centre for the Church. The work was painted to raise funds for black South Africans' education.