Immaculee Ilibagiza survived the Rwandan genocide in 1994. She enjoys international fame today as a motivational speaker and proponent of the power of prayer, devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary. Her traumatic experience, holed up in a small bathroom with several other women for some three months, is painstakingly revealed in her best-seller “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” where she documented her survival of the merciless slaughter that swept Rwanda in 1994. She attributes her survival to her firm Faith.
In her books and public appearances, Immaculee relates the appearance of Our Lady at Kibeho in 1981. As is so often the case with apparitions of Our Lady, there is always an appeal to pray the Rosary. As Immaculee attests, Our Lady requested that people pray the rosary “from the heart…” About 10 years later Rwanda was plunged into an apocalyptic blood-letting that sent shock waves around the world. Was Our Lady preparing her children to face that aborning catastrophe?
One of the seers was given the chaplet of the seven sorrows to help her spread it to the whole world, a devotion which is steadily gaining more ground.
The local Bishop, Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, where Kibeho is situated approved public devotion to the apparitions in 1988. It was not however until 2001 that he and the Holy See declared the testimonies of three witnesses authentic, regarding apparitions that began in 1981 and that continued in “the months that followed” through 1983. This was after the genocide, an event which also obviously led major credibility to the apparitions of Our Lady.
Interestingly, Our Lady of Kibeho is the only Vatican-approved apparition in Africa!
The Ordinary, His Excellency, Bishop Augustin Misago issued a declaration on June 29, 2001, regarding the Revelations in Kibeho. In it, he declared:
- It is true that the Mother of God appeared in Kibeho on the day of November 28, 1981 and during the following months. There are more well-founded reasons to believe in this than to deny it. For this reason, only three visionaries from the beginning of the revelations deserve to be recognized as authentic, namely Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and Marie Claire Mukangano. The Virgin Mary appeared to them dedicated as “Nynia wa Jambo,” meaning “Mother of the Word,” which is a synonym for “Umubyeyi w’Imana,” which means “Mother of God,” as she explained it. The visionaries maintain that they saw her sometimes with hands folded, then other times unfolded.
He summed up the main points of the message thus:
- An urgent appeal to the repentance and conversion of hearts:
“Repent, repent, repent!”, “Convert while there is still time.”
- An assessment of the moral state of the world:
“The world conducts itself very badly,” “The world hastens to its ruin, it will fall into the abyss,” in other words, it is plunged into innumerable and unrelenting disasters. “The world is rebellious against God, it commits too many sins, it has neither love nor peace.” “If you do not repent and do not convert your hearts, you will fall into the abyss.”
- The deep sorrow of the Mother of God:
The visionaries claim to have seen Mary crying on August 15, 1982. The Mother of God was very saddened because of people’s unbelief and lack of repentance. She complained of our bad way of life, which is characterized by the slackness of customs, the likeness of evil, and continuous disobedience to God’s Commandments.
- “Faith and unbelief will come unseen”
These mysterious words were repeatedly spoken by Mary to Alfonsine at the beginning of the revelations. She was asked to repeat them to the other people.
- The suffering that saves:
This subject is among the most important among the revelations in Kibeho, particularly for Natalie Mukamazimpaka. Suffering, which is unavoidable in this life, is necessary for Christians to attain eternal glory. On May 15, 1982, Mary said to her visionaries, especially to Natalie, “No one will reach heaven without suffering,” or, “A child of Mary does not reject suffering.” Suffering is both a means of compensating for the sins of the world and participating in Jesus’ and Mary’s sufferings for the salvation of the world. The visionaries were invited through this address to live very specifically, accepting suffering through faith in love, mortifying themselves and denying themselves pleasures for the conversion of the world. Thus, Kibeho is a reminder of the role of the cross in the life of a Christian and the Church.
- “Pray always and single-heartedly”
People are not praying, and those who do pray, do not pray as they should. Mary begs the visionaries to pray in abundance for the whole world, to teach others to pray, and to pray for those who do not pray themselves. Mary begs us to pray with greater zeal and purity of heart.
- Marian devotion – expressed through sincere and regular praying of the rosary.
- The Rosary to the Seven Sorrows of the Mother of God:
The visionary Marie Claire Mukangano claims to have received revelations regarding this rosary. This rosary pleases the Mother of God. It was once well known, but now it has now been forgotten. The Mother of God of Kibeho desires for it to be renewed and spread in the Church. However, this prayer does not replace the Holy Rosary.
- Mary desires that a chapel be built for her – as a sign of the remembrance of her revelations in Kibeho. This subject appears in the revelations of January 16, 1982 and recurs many times in the course of the year with new supplements.
- Pray always for the Church, when many troubles are upon it in the times to come. Thus Mary said to Alfonsine on August 15, 1983 and November 28, 1983.
According to the alleged visionaries, Mary’s address in Kibeho “is not directed to only one person nor does it concern only the current time; it is directed to everyone in the entire world.”
The analysis of the conversations with the visionaries makes it clear that in their view, the Mother of God did not come to Kibeho with new teaching, but to remind us with full clarity of that which we had forgotten. She came to awaken us, to shake our consciences, to warn us, to remind us of our responsibilities as children of God, to lead us onto the right path, and to motivate us to correct our lives. In short, she came for the sake of our spiritual renewal and salvation. Mary, who is our mother, cannot abandon her children to their destruction. Even more saddening is the blindness and the hardening of our hearts.”
Lastly, he wrote:
I could not finish this declaration without giving a few practical tips regarding your behaviour in relation to the revelations in Kibeho.
- First I will to recall that in the Church of God and in the life of every Christian, the Bible – the Word of God – is and should remain the highest standard of our faith and our human action. I warmly recommend to each person to love the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures and to ceaselessly ponder it in order to better live according to it in faithfulness to the teaching of the Church. There we have everything necessary to know and practice to be a good Christian, and in this way merit entry into the heavenly kingdom. Consequently, it is not a good thing for the words of those who consider themselves visionaries, even if they are officially recognized, to be treated equally with the words of the Holy Scriptures.
- In Christian faith and prayer, one should be watchful in order to ensure priority to Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5-6). It is about him that the Holy Scriptures speak: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). No creation can be placed above Jesus Christ – the only Saviour of the world.
- In this context, I find it suitable to strongly emphasize the meaning of the bond that should exist between Marian devotion and an ever greater attachment to Jesus. Mary leads us to Him, for He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and “No one comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:6).
- Our Christian life cannot be limited by such practices. It must also manifest itself in deeds expressing our love to our neighbours and in building around ourselves the kingdom of God, “the kingdom of truth and life, the kingdom of light and grace, the kingdom of love, justice, and peace” (preface from the celebration of Christ the King). The one who prays should commit without reluctance in serving his brothers. The life of a Christian should be in accordance with his faith. Nothing would be more in opposition to true Marian devotion than a Christian life that neglects the demands of truth, justice, peace, and love. This is true also for married and family life in accordance with the Gospel.
- I ask that the Rosary to the Seven Sorrows of the Mother of God become a part of the practices promoted in the sanctuary in Kibeho and elsewhere. Wherever this rosary is not yet well known, may Christians be taught it in the same way as the Holy Rosary. I ask my friends and benefactors the favour of helping us in seeking ways and means that allow for the acquisition and spread of this rosary at affordable prices to the faithful. It is forbidden to spread and pray other kinds of rosaries without written permission from the bishop of the place.
- As I have already said in my Address on September 15, 1996 regard the revelations in Kibeho, we must learn to be attached to what is most important in our Christian life. What the Mother of God of Kibeho expects from us first is not to build her a lavish sanctuary of brick or beautifully hewn stone. Rather, she expects spiritual temples to be created in our hearts by cleansing them of all filth and banishing all lust and dishonesty, hate and violence, pride and deceit in its many forms, vengeance, and all murderous ideas. What the Mother of God expects from us immediately is that we zealously accept the address directed to us by the intercession of her visionaries. This address is an urgent call to repentance and conversion, to a changed way of thinking, to a denial of everything that distances us from Christ. The address obligates us to a rediscovery of the Gospel of brotherly love and to giving proof of greater zeal in prayer and obedience to God’s commandments.
I give these recommendations to promote authentic Marian devotion in relation to the revelations in Kibeho and to preserve them from obscurity and distortion. I ask you to faithfully abide by them in the spirit of faith, trust, humility, and obedience, following the Virgin Mary as our example.
In this spirit, I beg the Lord to grant all of you His blessings in abundance.
Gikongoro, June 29, 2001
On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles
On the ninth anniversary of my pastoral work,
Augustin Misago, Bishop of Gikongoro, Rwanda
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For all practical purposes, the message of Our Lady at Kibeho repeats and reinforces the essentials of Fatima. Prayer, penance and amendment of life… Without conversion, we can expect only difficulties and trouble. This is the consistent and ever-more urgent message of a loving mother with her eye on her straying children.