Hence, starting from September 1983, she first taught in her home parish Mushubi and thereafter in Kigali from September 1987. \roctobre 1981, aprs ses tudes primaires Alphonsine est admise au collge de Kibehon, tenue par la Congrgation des Surs\rBenebikira.\rLa Vierge demandait tous de se convertir, avoir la foi, et\rprier sans hypocrisie.\r\r28 novembre 1981, les apparitions de la Mre du Verbe commence lge de 16 ans, Mgr Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, est l'vque du diocse de Butare dont Kibeho faisait partie jusquen 1992,\rALPHONSINE MUMUREKE termina ses tudes secondaires lEcole\rdes Lettres de Kibeho en juillet 1989 avec un diplme du niveau A2 en secrtariat du Groupe Scolaire Mre du Verbe de Kibeho .\r Alphonsine fut embauche par le diocse comme secrtaire dactylographe au Service diocsain de lEnseignement Catholique Gikongoro. And, when our pilgrimage on this earth comes to an end, may we live eternally with you in the kingdom of Heaven. Misago writes in his declaration of June 29th, 2001: A visionary, even when recognised as authentic by the church authorities, remains a human being like everyone else, with his/her personal temperament, qualities and shortcomings. It was the church that had helped implement the disastrous racial nationwide census, distinguishing Hutu from Tutsi in every neighbourhood. This encouraged Nathalie to return home after two years of absence. In this Declaration, the Bishop of Gikongoro specifies without meandering: 1 . In fact, in advice that seems equally applicable to us today, we are told in the film that one of Our Lady's biggest sorrows was that "[f]ew people truly listened to the . Various reasons justify the choice by Our Lady of these three visionaries already approved as visionaries. In the end, they could not prove the visionary and her position wrong. var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; The dissension between the Hutus and the Tutsis was essentially a class struggle, and not a tribal conflict,1 as is often believed. Perhaps the most significant vision occurred on August 15, 1982, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. . Kibeho itself suffered two massacres. The most active period of these apparitions ended with the year 1983. Nathalie's father, Laurent Ngango is still alive and stays about 10 km from Kibeho. Then she heard a voice calling her. On a summer morning in 2003, many of those who had participated in the genocidal killings walked out of prison into the sunshine, singing hymns, their freedom granted by the president. The visionaries said to have seen her sometimes with joined hands, sometimes with outstretched arms. Here is how she relates the first Apparition: It was of a woman calling herself "Mother of the Word". Her hands were clasped in front of her in a gesture of prayer, her slender fingers pointing toward heaven.3 The barefoot Lady was so beautiful and had such a perfect complexion that Alphonsine couldnt determine the color of her skin. 7 . On August 22nd, 1987, Marie Claire celebrated her church wedding to Elie Ntabadahiga, a member of Mushubi parish. Their message is in conformity with the Sacred Scripture and the living Tradition of the Church. 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. What is more important is that Alphonsine, Nathalie and Marie Claire corresponded satisfactorily to all the criteria established by the Church in the matter of private apparitions and revelations. She justifies this by referring to personal messages from the Blessed Virgin, whom she calls "Umubyeyi", mother. Moreover, chances are that some people tried to talk to these visionaries and maliciously make them their instruments. At the end of her studies at Kibeho, Alphonsine was immediately employed by the Diocese of Butare as a secretary and stenotypist at the Diocesan Service Centre for Catholic Education, at that time part of the prefecture of Gikongoro. She and her husband were among the thousands of victims of the Rwandan conflict. She was taken to a land of lighta place of communionwhere she saw seven angels singing indescribably beautiful hymns in praise of God. Heaven had directed her to tell the officials to pray, to forgive, and to stop persecuting the Tutsis and sending them into exile. Witnesses say that Marie Claire was killed in an attempt or defend or to find her husband kidnapped and lead together with other victims to an unknown destination. . Thus, they gave priority to the first eight supposed visionaries: Those of the first year of the apparitions at Kibeho, i.e. She was baptised on February 2nd, 1968 at the age of 4. The phenomena of the spiritual journeys of Anathalie and Alphonsine remained inexplicable from a human standpoint. Calming down a little, she went into the dining hall to serve. From there, she continued her escape up to Bukavu in former Zaire together with many other refugees, including priests and religious of all ethnic groups. This email address is being protected from spambots. As she was filling water glasses, the same apprehension mixed with bliss arose. She then saw a beautiful woman, who said, "I am the Mother of the Word.". But Mukamazimpaka, on what she says was an order from the Virgin Mary, has stayed in Kibeho, except for two years during the genocide when she was ordered to leave by the bishop. Young and powerless, their warnings went unheeded. At the same time, she was aspirant in the order of Saint Claire. In 2001, after a 20-year investigation by the Vatican and seven years after the genocide the pope certified the apparitions as authentic. Many others soon arrived: the school nurse to take her vitals and assess her medical condition; a Red Cross Official to conduct tests; a member of the Commission of Enquiry to note the facts; Abbot Augustin Misago, the spiritual guide (later the Bishop of Gikongoro, who would officially make a declaration in favor of the authenticity of the apparitions); and two seminarians, along with the entire school staff. Son nom de religion est Alphonsine de la Croix Glorieuse. Everything said or done after that date at Kibeho did not bring anything new with respect to what was already known, from the point of view of the messages and of the signs of credibility. She completed her secondary school studies at the Humanistic School of Kibeho in July 1989 with a secretary degree (level A2). 10Our Lady of Kibeho, Immacule Ilibagiza, Hay House Inc., pg 147. The mentioned commissions produced numerous reports which were submitted to the Bishop of the Diocese of Butare to which Kibeho still belonged at that time. It was of a woman calling herself "Mother of the Word". She was baptised on July 27th, 1977 at the age of 12 years. No one goes to heaven without suffering, Our Lady told her, and as a child of Mary, you may never put down the cross you bear.7 Then, holding her rosary, the student knelt and received a blessing from the Virgin Mary before she departed. Kibeho College, founded in 1967 on the initiative of the parish priest of Kibeho, Father Grgoire Kamugisha, has often changed name in order to conform to the changing programs of the Ministry of National Education. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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. It was not long before most of the girls believed in the apparitions, but the school authorities wondered if the devil was the instigator of all these mysterious events. In April 1982, two commissions were authorized to investigate the events. The last place, hell, was a most fearsome hot furnace where the only light was a shade of red that reminded Anathalie of congealed blood. Anathalie had to avert her gaze from the horrific scene of anguish and misery. Most probably this caused he to reread the message of the apparitions (and particularly that of August 15th, 1982) with great pain, trying to establish a link between what the Virgin Mary had said and the tragedy which descended upon Rwanda and her neighbouring countries. Sixteen-year-old Alphonsine Mumureke was privileged to attend Kibeho High school, an opportunity many poor Rwandan girls did not have. Forename Alphonsine. The Hutus, as part of the lower class, were the object of discrimination, eventually leading them to rebel against the Belgian colonial power in 1959, forcing 150,000 Tutsis to flee to Burundi. It is in this context that Mons. She had just finished a geography test and was filled with inexplicable emotions: confusion, joy, dread and fear. 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. 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. Our Lady told her to sing a song that was to portend the seriousness of this particular apparition. 98% of our readers don't give; they simply look the other way. If you donate . Marie-Claire, the leading antagonist, glared at her in total disgust and disbelief. Most probably this caused he to reread the message of the apparitions (and particularly that of August 15th, 1982) with great pain, trying to establish a link between what the Virgin Mary had said and the tragedy which descended upon Rwanda and her neighbouring countries. 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. I invite the parents or guardians as well as the friends of the visionaries of Kibeho still alive to moderately treat the visionaries, avoiding exaltation only for them having been favoured by the approved apparitions. The exact date and circumstances of their death are not (yet) elicited. 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. Mary identified herself to Alphonsine as "the Mother of the Word.". Pray my Seven Sorrows rosary to find repentance, she said, charging Marie-Claire with the distinctive mission of propagating this chaplet.9. I first worked with Katori in New York in 2006. In 2004, Mumureke entered a Poor Clares monastery in Abidjan, where she continues to live as a nun today.[1]. On January 12, 1982, she appeared to Anathalie Mukamazimpaka, another devout seventeen-year-old student. 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. Alphonsine was struck by the deeply sorrowful countenance of Our Lady. One Saturday, November 28, 1981 seventeen year old Alphonsine Mumureke was taking her turn as server in the school lunch room. Her mother, Gaudence Mukabaziga, died on Octobre 17th, 1998 from malaria. Congo) family whom she had also met during the time of the apparitions at Kibeho, she she continued her tragical journey up to Abidjan at Ivory Coast a few weeks later and got into contact with Father Raymond Halter, a Marian priest who knew her since her last apparition on November 28th, 1989. It is the most famine-prone region of one of the worlds poorest countries, but so beautiful that locals say: God comes on holiday here.. 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