The next dayMarch 2as the class processed into chapel, Marie-Claire again lost consciousness. 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. Get the latest from La Croix International. As she was filling water glasses, the same apprehension mixed with bliss arose. The two commissions completed their investigation twenty years after their creation. Her mother, Immaculate Mukarasana, died some a few years after the genocide of 1994. Together with many other war displaced, they were taken towards Byumba, which was supposed to be a secure zone. It is estimated that, in just three months, almost one million were killed as the extremist Hutus targeted the minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. But Mukamazimpaka, on what she says was an order from the Virgin Mary, has stayed in Kibeho, except for two years. The visionaries said to have seen her sometimes with joined hands, sometimes with outstretched arms. addy06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61 = addy06979af1fb68ed1cff9c75452df96a61 + 'gmail' + '.' + 'com'; As a Latin adage says: Gratia non tollit naturam, sed perficit eam. ("Grace doesn't do away with nature, but perfects it."). She was killed in the 1994 genocide along with her husband. Despite rumblings of the growing divide between Hutus and Tutsis, we lose ourselves in this story of these three young women who want to change the world they will inherit. Our Lady promised that millions would come to the Shrine to seek her help, and that they would be blessed and strengthened. Alphonsine Mumureke was born on March 21st, 1965, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kibungo, Rwanda. The most active period of these apparitions ended with the year 1983. The first time that the Virgin Mary appeared to Nathalie was on January 12th, 1982, the last time on December 3rd, 1983. And they were causing increasing furor. He prayed that it would be a holy place of prayer, conversion, and reparation for the world. In 1981, at a high school in Kibeho, Rwanda, a teenager named Alphonsine Mumureke had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Sanctuary Our Lady of KibehoB.P. She wore no shoes, just like Alphonsine and her classmates. Ses parents sappelaient Thadde GAKWAYA et Marie Immacule MUKARUSANA.\r27 juillet 1977, Alphonsine est baptise lge de 12 ans. The two commissions continued their task as usual and were reinforced with some new members. First two years of apparitions at Kibeho . Learning of the opportunity, Alphonsines parish priest intervened, and she was accepted into the school. 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. Together with many other war displaced, they were taken towards Byumba, which was supposed to be a secure zone. On August 15, 1988 the local Bishop approved public devotion to Our Lady of Kibeho. Our Lady promised special graces to those who meditate on her sorrows. For reasons mentioned below, she was unable to complete her studies. She married Rwandan journalist, Elie Ntabadahiga, and was living in Kigali at the time of the genocide. I am concerned with and turning to the whole world. The director grabbed the school nurse and summoned Abbot Augustin Misago, a leading member of the Commission of Enquiry. At first, no one took the adolescent's claims seriously. Public are those apparitions that take place in the presence of various testimonies, which does not necessarily mean a crowd. She completed her secondary school studies at the Humanistic School of Kibeho in July 1989 with a secretary degree (level A2). Katoris background as a journalist and an actor bring a rare sensibility to her plays, which combine a reporters eye for a good story and historical detail together with an understanding of how to craft characters that only an actor can experience. Marie Claire had been among those who had dismissed Alphonsine's claims, arguing that her fellow student just wanted attention. 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. Alphonsine Mumureke is said to have taken, on March 20, 1982, a mystical journey of several hours with the Virgin in another world throughout places that she describes in symbolic language that makes one think of realities such as Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, but with a vocabulary very different from the one of the Catechism. With the help of an Ivorian-Congolese (D.R. When Alphonsine's story was mocked by other students, she asked Mary to appear to others, so that they might believe. She then heard a gentle voice sweetly inviting her not to be afraid. Many a time, the visionary was confronted with all kinds of questions, some of which were very personal or even offending. At that time, Father Joseph Bezel, parish priest in France and a dear friend of Father Raymond Halter, helped Alphonsine to obtain a scholarship for the Business School of Castaing in Abidjan ,where she signed up for a three-year-programme of Business Secretary Education (from 1995/96 to 1997/98). Since 1998 it goes by "Groupe Scolaire Mere du Verbe" (School of the Mother of the Word). 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. This email address is being protected from spambots. There, they were caught off guard by the genocide of 1994. Kibeho High School in southern Rwanda is run by the Benebikira Sisters or Daughters of the Virgin Mary. May it be a call for the Church of Rwanda, and beyond, to turn with confidence to Our Lady of Sorrows. What Alphonsine did not tell them was that she was receiving messages for government officials, even the Hutu president. 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. One of the schoolteachers, Sr. Blandine, pushed her way through the unbelieving crowd and brought Alphonsine to the school director and to the nurse. 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. Kibeho was not spared. Some of the students began to believe her, and they asked Alphonsine many questions about Our Lady: What did she say? What did she look like? When will she come again? Our Lady always told Alphonsine when her next visit would be. And, when our pilgrimage on this earth comes to an end, may we live eternally with you in the kingdom of Heaven. 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. When he died Father Basile Gbangbo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Abidjan, took over as spiritual guide. The Tutsis ruled Rwanda in the early part of the century and were considered the upper class. 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. The next day, one of the students, Marie-Claire, led a group of fellow students in a confrontation with Alphonsine. The river of blood seen by the visionaries materialized, as the Kagera River was used to dispose of corpses as thousands of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates were murdered on the river banks. var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; In the case of the three visionaries named above, who are at the origin of the fame of Kibeho, nothing that they said or did during the apparitions is contrary to Christian faith and morals. Convert while there is still time, the Virgin Mary said to the world through Marie Claire. She was baptized when she was 12 years old, on July 27 1977. Even though this apparition was shorter, it took her longer to regain full consciousness. | Jan 16, 2017 | 2014, Marian Shrines | 0 comments. 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. The exact date and circumstances of their death are not (yet) elicited. 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. There are more reasons to believe in the apparitions than to deny them. Then she slowly drifted upwards and disappeared into the clouds fading light. If I am turning to the parish of Kibeho, it does not mean that I am concerned only for Kibeho, or for the Diocese of Butare, or for Rwanda, or for the whole of Africa. They share the same language, religions and kinship and clan systems. Nathalie's father, Laurent Ngango is still alive and stays about 10 km from Kibeho. At the time of the civil war and genocide of 1994, she remained at Kibeho, at the scene of two terrible massacres. 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. This encouraged Nathalie to return home after two years of absence. 5 . 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. Some. Our Lady first appeared to Alphonsine Mumureke, a student at Kibeho High School, on Nov. 28, 1981. between November 28th, 1981 and November 28th, 1982. She told the girl that she wanted to be loved by people everywhere so that she could bring lost souls to her Son Jesus. The student-visionaries said Our Lady also expressed her sadness at the sin in the world and invited people to recite the rosary of the seven sorrows and to be more diligent in prayer. It is about to fall in its abyss. At the time of the apparitions she attended Grade 4 of the elementary level at Kibeho College. As soon as she disappeared, Alphonsine collapsed on the floor and lay motionless for ten minutes. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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