When Belgium withdrew in 1962, Rwanda and Burundi became two independent countries. The two commissions started their work immediately after their creation. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Only the three initial testimonies merit being considered authentic; they were given by Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and by Marie Claire Mukangango. At the same time, she was aspirant in the order of Saint Claire. Forename Alphonsine. 2 . And everywhere there was blood, flies.13. Tuesday - Sunday through December 7, $25 212-244-7529 www.signaturetheatre.org Alphonsine was born on March 21, 1965, in Cyizihira, in the parish of Zaza, Diocese of Kibungo. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; Following her studies, Marie Claire Mukangango became a teacher. It would be unfortunate to misuse them as a kind of good luck charm" (abapfumu). Civilians who had taken refuge in the parish church there in April 1994 were killed. var addy06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61 = 'sanctuaire.kibeho' + '@'; Alphonsine Mumureke left in 1994 during the genocide and never came back. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . The group concluded that she was truly with Our Lady on some mysterious expedition; they had no choice but to wait. Their message is in conformity with the Sacred Scripture and the living Tradition of the Church. Support La Croix International's unique blend of international Catholic journalism by making it available to people in Asia and Africa who can't afford a subscription and often don't have credit cards to pay for it either. T he 16-year-old schoolgirl Alphonsine Mumureke said she was in the cafeteria of the Catholic boarding school Kibeho College, Rwanda, when she heard a voice "soft as air and sweeter than. Soon, there were many concerned officials, priests, and others in attendance as Alphonsine truly appeared dead. It was of a woman calling herself "Mother of the Word". Alphonsine kept her job when the Diocese of Gikongoro was founded in 1992 up to the point in 1994 when she was forced to flee in order to survive the terrible genocide in Rwanda, first to the presbytery of the parish of Gikongoro and then to Bukavu in former Zaire, now D.R. Whether the visions that they described were real or not, the schoolgirls testimony highlighted the daily injustices that they saw around them. And they were causing increasing furor. As soon as she disappeared, Alphonsine collapsed on the floor and lay motionless for ten minutes. The sins of her children caused the heavenly Mother such deep sorrow that she cried bitterly as she pleaded for her children to pray and to love one another. 7 . Marie Claire and Elie formed a happy couple. Calming down a little, she went into the dining hall to serve. Many sins are being committed. Improvements to the Shrine continue: electricity was added, a small campsite with facilities constructed, the sacristy furnished, and a pathway for processions established. Survivors watched as those who had killed their families and friends returned to their villages, reoccupying homes that had been empty for almost a decade. She was then led to the place of the cherished of God, where she saw millions of people with white garments who were happy, but not with the same degree of rapture as the seven angels. After she graduated Kibeho College, she worked as a secretary for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Butare from 1992 to 1994. Her father, Thadde Gakwaya was assassinated in September 1984. Alphonsine Mumureke Show Our Lady of Kibeho Gender Female Age Range Late Teen, Young Adult Role Size Lead Dancing Non Dancer Voice Spoken Time & Place kibeho college, an all-girls catholic school in kibeho, rwanda, 1981-1982 Tags Today, we humbly ask you to defend Catholic Online's independence. After Marie Claire, the third visionary in the chronology of the apparitions of Kibeho, there were several other girls and one boy, all of them of different age and various levels of education. She was killed in the 1994 genocide along with her husband. This choice, however, was a working hypothesis, not a presumption of authenticity for such a large number of visionaries. She is one of three Vatican-approved seers of the Our Lady of Kibeho apparitions of the 1980s, which occurred in her late teen years. One Saturday, November 28, 1981 seventeen year old Alphonsine Mumureke was taking her turn as server in the school lunch room. Ses parents sappelaient Thadde GAKWAYA et Marie Immacule MUKARUSANA.\r27 juillet 1977, Alphonsine est baptise lge de 12 ans. As for Alphonsine Mumureke, the first visionary, she has had a long journey. Alphonsine Mumureke was born on March 21st, 1965 in Cyizihira, in the parish of Zaza, Diocese of Kibungo as the daughter of Thadde Gakwaya and Mary Immaculate Mukarasana. She promotes the message of Our Lady of Kibeho and helps the pilgrims in any way she can. Fortunately, the Benebikira Sisters had just come back to Kibeho and reopened their convent, the school and the health centre. When she awoke from the nightmare, she found two friends supporting her, questioning her and advising her to return to the dormitory. Sixteen-year-old Alphonsine Mumureke was privileged to attend Kibeho High school, an opportunity many poor Rwandan girls did not have. In turbulent times when the voices of young people are so often ignored, Katori and I hope that the UK premiere of this extraordinary play will spark a conversation on ways to heal our own political, racial and religious divides. In 1905, they reconstructed it with brick. After graduation, Marie-Claire spent years spreading devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Unfortunately, they did not have a child, despite their strong desire to start a family. When asked about her future plans at the time of the apparitions, Alphonsine used to express her wish to join the religious congregation of the Benebikira Sisters. Sign up to receive our daily newsletter. The first time that the Virgin Mary appeared to Nathalie was on January 12th, 1982, the last time on December 3rd, 1983. As long as he/she is still living on this earth, he/she also remains a sinner, called to, do penance and to grow in his / her life of faith and personal sanctification. The other two visionaries, Anathalie and Marie-Claire, experienced the same dreadful vision on this day: mass murder, the river of blood, piles of corpses. var addy_text06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61 = 'sanctuaire.kibeho' + '@' + 'gmail' + '.' + 'com';document.getElementById('cloak06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61').innerHTML += ''+addy_text06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61+'<\/a>'; Copyright Sanctuaire Notre Dame de Kibeho. She had just finished a geography test and was filled with inexplicable emotions: confusion, joy, dread and fear. In November 1981, 16-year-old Alphonsine Mumureke reported a vision she described as the Virgin Mary, warning of a bloody, apocalyptic, hate-filled conflict to come. Our Lady promised special graces to those who meditate on her sorrows. The exceptional long duration of the apparitions did not discourage the members of the two commissions, who worked with great zeal and the desire to examine the events impartially and without bias, investigating without rush but with patience and calm. Some. The unfolding of the Rwandan genocidal tragedy in 1994, verifying with gruesome exactitude a prophecy given by Our Lady of Kibeho just a few years earlier, invites the reader to a sobering reflection: heavens call to repentance must not go unheeded. When she awoke, she had to be carried to her bed, where she remained for two days without saying a word: Our Lady had instructed her to spend that time in silence, meditating on what she had witnessed. Then she heard a voice calling her. As a Latin adage says: Gratia non tollit naturam, sed perficit eam. ("Grace doesn't do away with nature, but perfects it."). Ever since, she has been continuing her generous work for the Marian shrine and committing herself to praying with the pilgrims. In 1981, at a high school in Kibeho, Rwanda, a teenager named Alphonsine Mumureke had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Katori Halls play Our Lady of Kibeho is the story of three friends who insisted that they were visited by the Virgin Mary and told of the horror that lay ahead. She was baptised on July 27th, 1977 at the age of 12 years. At the time of the civil war and genocide of 1994, she remained at Kibeho, at the scene of two terrible massacres. | Jan 16, 2017 | 2014, Marian Shrines | 0 comments. It is often she herself who welcomes individual pilgrims and assists them in anything they need or refers them to the chaplain if necessary. The list of its authors can be seen in its historicaland/or the page Edithistory:Alphonsine Mumureke. between November 28th, 1981 and November 28th, 1982. Though the school was very poor and had no running water or electricity; Alphonsine was, nevertheless, grateful to be there. On the contrary, the successive local ordinaries were in favour of her. Marie Clarie's first apparition took place on March 2nd, 1982, her last on September 15th, 1982, after a period of 6 months and 15 days. Congo, where she sought refuge at the house of befriended families, who knew her from Kibeho. Kibeho, a small mountain village in southern Rwanda, is also the name of a parish founded in 1934, dedicated to Mary Mother of God. This parish was well known for its strong Catholic faith and gave a large number of priests and consecrated persons to the Church of Rwanda. Fortunately, the Benebikira Sisters had just come back to Kibeho and reopened their convent, the school and the health centre. While the morale of the government deteriorated, the RPF concentrated its fight on Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. article "Alphonsine Mumureke" is from Wikipedia, https://en.everybodywiki.com/index.php?title=Alphonsine_Mumureke&oldid=2464770. She justifies this by referring to personal messages from the Blessed Virgin, whom she calls "Umubyeyi", mother. She met Father Raymond Halter (1925-1998), a French Marianist priest and promoter of a great Marian devotion at the national Marian shrine of Cte d'Ivoire. The Bishop of Gikongoro wrote a letter of recommendation to Cardinal Agr and, following the advice of Father Basile, Alphonsine left the Business School to join the Catechetical School, affiliated to the Catholic University of West African in Abidjan. Whenever God called someone for a special mission in the history of salvation, He chose him / her right there, in their actual personal circumstances, and used him / her as he / she is, with his / her personality and character traits, all his / her qualities and personal shortcomings, capabilities and limitations. Pray my Seven Sorrows rosary to find repentance, she said, charging Marie-Claire with the distinctive mission of propagating this chaplet.9. When Alphonsine's story was mocked by other students, she asked Mary to appear to others, so that they might believe. On August 22nd, 1987, Marie Claire celebrated her church wedding to Elie Ntabadahiga, a member of Mushubi parish. Coffee and tea are the primary cash crops. But before she could finish the letter, she fainted again and was back in the gloom. After the creation of the Diocese of Gikongoro in 1992, everything connected with the apparitions of Kibeho was transferred to the new diocese led by Mons. document.getElementById('cloak5b9eadd281548aea5c9407afe17843cf').innerHTML = ''; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; She married in 1987 and obtained a teaching position. Her single mother was very poor and was not able to provide further education for her after grade school and had always planned that Alphonsine would help her in the fields thereafter. From time to time, relatives and Christians from her home parish, Muganza, come to visit her. But she sought a more secluded life completely devoted to prayers. Father Gbangbo seems to have played a major role in Alphonsines life as a spiritual advisor, also having influence on the Archbishop of Abidjan, Cardinal Bernard Agr, with whom Alphonsine was able to get into contact. Two words hover over the nations collective psychology: never again. In the evaluation of the facts and the messages, only the public apparitions are taken into consideration. At 1630 hrs the RPA fired warning shots and nine more IDPs were killed in the resulting stampede. But then another two students, Anathalie and Marie Claire the three became known as the Trinity insisted they too had been visited by the Virgin Mary and given the same apocalyptic warning. The Bishop of Gikongoro wrote a letter of recommendation to Cardinal Agr and, following the advice of Father Basile, Alphonsine left the Business School to join the Catechetical School, affiliated to the Catholic University of West African in Abidjan. I am concerned with and turning to the whole world. Thus, these first eight "visionaries" were chosen as a sample to be investigated in a specific way, without losing sight of the other supposed visionaries. A year later, in April 1995, tens of thousands of Hutu refugees were massacred in Kibeho by the troops of the new regime. Marie-Claire became increasingly agitated in the matter and began spying on the seers more closely, peeking at their letters and diaries and inventing nastier tactics to unmask the connivers. She was sure that the devil was involved, and she was determined to uncover the conspiracy. In 2001, after a 20-year investigation by the Vatican and seven years after the genocide the pope certified the apparitions as authentic. After her graduation from theology with a specialization in catechesis in June 2003, she entered the monastery Sainte Claire in Abidjan (Poor Clares). You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Augustine Misago, Bishop of Gikongoro declared the final judgement on the event of the apparitions of Kibeho on June 29th, 2001, in agreement with the members of the two commissions and with the Magisterium of the Universal Church in Rome as well as with the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda. She asked Alphonsine, Of all things in heaven, what makes you happy?4 Alphonsine replied that she loved God and His Mother and that they made her happy. Given the large number of the supposed visionaries, who had never had apparitions in a group and thus had to be investigated one by one, the commissions had to create methods of more efficiency in order to get on with their work. She was able to return to Rwanda in early December 1996. Ever since, she has been continuing her generous work for the Marian shrine and committing herself to praying with the pilgrims. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Sixteen-year-old Alphonsine Mumureke was privileged to attend Kibeho High school, an opportunity many poor Rwandan girls did not have. When His Excellency was still an abbot, he was providentially selected as a spiritual guide in the early stages of the apparitions. Many a time, the visionary was confronted with all kinds of questions, some of which were very personal or even offending. She successfully completed her secondary school education in July 1983 at Kibeho College with a diploma (level A3) which qualified her for primary school teaching. There are more reasons to believe in the apparitions than to deny them. Though Rwanda is situated only a few degrees south of the equator, the climate is fairly temperate (temperatures averaging 70 F / 21 Celsius) because of its location in a mountainous region with an average altitude of 5,000 to 6,000 feet (1,500 to 1,800 meters) above sea level. Elie was studying at the university while working as a journalist at Orinfor (Rwandan Office of Information) but was appointed to the Primer Minister's Office Services just before the genocide of 1994. Only the three initial testimonies merit being considered authentic; they were given by Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and by Marie Claire Mukangango. She was baptised on July 27th, 1977 at the age of 12 years. 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