Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
On November 28, 2006, a jubilee year was proclaimed to mark the 25th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary in the small Rwandan town (cf Fides, Nov. 29, 2006). The apparitions of the Virgin started on November 28, 1981, and ended on November 28, 1989.
Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, one of the 3 seers of Kibeho, remembers:
"The Virgin taught me how to pray the crown of the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, because she said a tragedy was coming to Rwanda. The Madonna asked us to change our lifestyle, love the sacraments, do penance, pray ceaselessly by reciting the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows for the conversion of the hearts of all those who have turned away from God, and to be humble by seeking forgiveness and forgiving others."
Bishop Augustine Misago of Gikongoro, makes the following comment:
"Forgiveness is a central element of the Gospel message."
"Indeed, without forgiveness, one cannot build a society founded on the Gospel. Without forgiveness there cannot be a healthy society but only a torn society."
Bishop Misago remembers the stupefaction and worry caused by the seer's story:
"Today we can say that the Rwandan tragedy was predicted, but I remember that on August 15, 1982, on the feast of the Assumption, instead of seeing a joyful Virgin, the seers witnessed terrible, frightening visions of corpses bleeding profusely, abandoned on the hills without burial. Nobody knew what these horrifying images meant. Now as we look at the events in retrospect and think that they could have been a vision of what happened in Rwanda, as well as in the region of the great lakes where blood is being shed, in Burundi, in Uganda, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo."
The bishop of Gikongoro adds that the Virgin's message in Kibeho is addressed to all mankind
"A conversion of the heart is necessary to obtain greater justice. We live in a situation of worldwide unbalance where the rich continue to amass riches and the poor just get poorer. It is a shameful situation that everyone must to weigh according to his own conscience."
___________
Agence Fides 30/11/2006