Kibeho

The first Saturday of the month is designated as a country-wide cleanup day with four hour work assignments. All the local businesses were closed and there were very few roadside travelers. After breakfast we journeyed to the Sanctuary of Our Lady Of Kibeho, situated in Gikongoro district, in the southern area of Rwanda, not far from the Burundian border. Kibeho parish was founded in 1934, but after the apparitions of the Virgin May in 1981, it became quickly a place of prayer and pilgrimages. Thousands of pilgrims from all corners of Rwanda and neighboring countries flocked at Kibeho.

The sanctuary is located high on top of one of Rwanda’s thousand hills; the beauty surrounding this area was incredible. We were the only visitors there; as we approached we felt this intense vortex that surrounded this sanctuary. There was an all girl choir performing; their voices echoed into the open air as if the angels were singing from the heavens. Emotions took hold of me, I experienced the wetness of tears descending down my cheeks and I was rooted to the ground like a cypress tree. Robert offered his hand in comfort. I held myself very still taking in all that I could; a heavy cloud of sorrow and worry lifted and I tasted a strong sense of hope and peacefulness. The choir continued to sing the whole duration of our visit.

Before we left I entered the church and knelt in prayer thanking God for bringing me to the most beautiful place in the world.