Veritas et Lux

Our Lady of Kibeho appeared in the small village of Kibeho, located in southwestern Rwanda. The apparitions began in the early 1980s during a time of rising tensions that tragically culminated in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The main visionaries were three young women named Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and Marie Claire Mukangango. On Novemeber 28, 1981, Mumureke saw the Virgin Mary in the schoolyard of the local college. She appeared dressed in traditional African attire with a long white gown, blue sash, and a veil, sometimes holding a rosary.

The Virgin Mary called for repentance and conversion to avoid suffering and death. She warned of violence and genocide if people did not turn back to God, and she urged prayer, especially the Rosary, to bring peace. She also promoted the devotion to herself as the Mother of Sorrows.

The messages were initially met with skepticism and even some hostility due to the political climate at the time. In 2001, the Church recognized these apparitions, making it the first and only Vatican-approved Marian apparition in Africa.