Shrines, commonly associated with peace and devotion, can also be scenarios of identity tensions and competing interests. This article critically examines this phenomenon by comparing two divergent projects on the rehabilitation of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception of Muxima, better known as Mamã Muxima. Located 130 km from Luanda and 230 km from the Atlantic, the villa of Muxima, with a history linked to Portuguese colonization and the slave trade, is currently the main center of Marian pilgrimage in Angola and sub-Saharan Africa, attracting thousands of faithful annually. After the independence and civil wars conflicts of the 20th century, Sanctuary was in a dilapidated state. In 2008, the Dioceses of Vina, with the participation of the authors, proposed a project focused on specific improvements that respect the devotion and architecture of the place, declared National Heritage since 1929. Between 2009 and 2022, the government launched a comprehensive requalification project aimed at strengthening the State-Church relationship and promoting international religious tourism. A comparison of the two projects reveals the controversies inherent in the rehabilitation of sacred spaces, where colonial memory, post-colonial aspirations, religiosity, politics and commercialization converge, creating tensions over the future of a place so representative.