The Archbishop of Canterbury has visited Cape Coast Castle, a former British slave castle in Ghana and prayed at the shore where slave ships departed for the Americas (30 July).

At the height of the transatlantic slave trade, enslaved Africans were held at Cape Coast Castle, before being transported to the Americas on British slave ships.

The Archbishop visited the underground dungeons where prisoners were kept, and walked through the 'Door of No Return' where enslaved Africans would pass before boarding the ships. After passing through the door, Archbishop Sarah turned and prayed in front of it.

During the tour, the Archbishop saw the appalling conditions of the castle, including women’s cells, the place where enslaved men and women were branded and the sequence of underground dungeons.

She also prayed in a former Anglican chapel situated directly above the dungeons. During the castle's active period, church services were being conducted metres above hundreds of slaves living in squalor.

Today it is an educational library and chapel, and stands as a painful symbol of the Church’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

Archbishop Sarah said: 'Being at Cape Coast Castle today and seeing the horrific conditions that thousands of people were kept in, it is impossible not to feel the weight of the immense evil that drove the transatlantic slave trade.

'We have a God who loves each one of us, who created each of us with an individual value and worth, and yet that was not recognised here.

'I pray not only in lament for the Church’s involvement in the slave trade, but also for hope - hope that the God of healing can bring justice and reconciliation to all who are still impacted by its legacy. In the name of Jesus Christ, who came to set people free, I pray that we have the courage to continue our journey of repentance, and to strive for a world in which all of God's children are treated with dignity.'

Beginning her tour of Ghana on Sunday, the Archbishop broke soil for a new pilgrim hostel that will welcome Africans from the diaspora visiting Ghana to learn about their heritage and visit the slave sites. The project is being run by the Anglican Church of Ghana and supported by USPG.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is making her first pastoral visit to Africa since her installation, visiting Anglicans in Ghana and Cameroon. The Archbishop will travel from Accra to Yaounde where she will undertake a five-day visit to Cameroon.

Read more about the Archbishop's visit to Ghana.