By Muji Kaiser

Earlier this month, I received an unexpected email from one of my foundation’s supporters. He wrote, “I have just finished reading several books by Immaculée Ilibagiza, including Our Lady of Kibeho and The Boy Who Met Jesus. My question is whether you have any knowledge of Immaculée and the Kibeho apparitions, any thoughts on [the] validity of the apparitions… I realize that Rwanda is across the continent from Nigeria and that you were raised in the United States, but you are the person I know who would be most likely to have some knowledge of Immaculée and the Kibeho apparitions.”

The email caught me off-guard. The Church determined that the Marian apparitions in Kibeho were valid in 2001. I knew that he must have been aware of the ruling, so I wasn’t sure why my opinion mattered and felt humbled by the question. I did, in fact, have some knowledge about the Marian apparitions in Kibeho having watched a compelling documentary some years prior. However, I didn’t remember the details very well, so I rewatched it and did some additional reading. This is what I discovered.

Our Lady of Kibeho is the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition in the continent of Africa, in the small country of Rwanda. On November 28, 1981, our Blessed Mother appeared to 16-year-old Kibeho High School student, Alphonsine Mumureke, introducing herself in the native Rwandan language of Kinyarwanda as “Nyina Wa Jambo,” which means “Mother of the Word.”

Alphonsine, whose last name means, “Leave her alone; she tells the truth,” was met with disbelief and condemnation as she spoke of Mary’s appearances to her with school officials and her peers. She asked Mary to appear to another student, so that people would believe. Our Lady then appeared to 20-year-old student Nathalie Mukamazimpaka on January 12, 1982. Nathalie, whose last name means, “One who settles arguments and brings peace,” received messages from Mary emphasizing the importance of endless prayer and expiation for our sins through self-denial and the acceptance of suffering. Because Nathalie was pious and reserved, she was well-respected and the visions were viewed with greater credibility, but some were still skeptical. 

Most skepticism was put to rest within their community when 21-year-old Marie Claire Mukangango, whose opposition to the “supposed” apparitions was well-known and who was a notorious persecutor of the two visionaries began receiving public visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary on March 2, 1982.

Because Mary always revealed the date of her next appearance to the girls, journalists, scientists, members of the medical and theological commission, believers and unbelievers alike flocked to Kibeho by the tens of thousands to witness the apparitions. A platform was later constructed so that the visionaries could be better seen when an apparition was taking place. Their voices were amplified by a microphone for all to hear and their messages were recorded and shared throughout the globe.

Scientists and investigators conducted a multitude of tests on the girls while they were experiencing their visions, to determine their validity. The visionaries’ eyes were pricked with needles, their skin was twisted with pliers and various other extremely-invasive tests were performed on them. To the absolute bewilderment of the examiners, the girls were unphased and nonreactive during all of these tests. It defied scientific reason and many unbelievers converted. The visionaries appeared to have been transported to another world. They dropped to their knees as soon as Our Lady appeared, in an immovable, trance-like state of awe, with their eyes appearing blissfully tear-filled as they gazed upon “the most beautiful woman” that they had ever seen: the Mother of God. 

At the conclusion of each apparition, the visionaries laid motionless and unresponsive for a period before finally regaining consciousness. They would then share Mary’s responses and the entire conversations would be transcribed. The transcriptions captured such tender conversations between Mary and her daughters as she asked them how their day was, how their families were doing and encouraged them to share whatever was heavy on their heart. From the conversations, it seems evident that Mary calls us each to speak to her the way that we would to our loving mother.

To Mary Claire, Our Lady entrusted the mission to share the rosary of the seven sorrows with the world. Mary Claire would often say, “One must meditate on the Passion of Jesus, and on the deep sorrows of His Mother. One must recite the rosary every day, and also the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, to obtain the favour of repentance.” 

Each of the prayers’ seven decades corresponds with one of the Seven Sorrows of Mary: 

1. The prophecy of Simeon.
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The Child Jesus Lost in the Temple.
4. Mary meets Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary.
5. Mary stands at the foot of the cross.
6. Mary receives the body of Jesus in her arms.
7. The body of Jesus is placed in the tomb.

Although the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows regained popularity after Mary’s apparitions in Kibeho, it dates back to the thirteenth century after our Blessed Mother appeared to St. Bridget of Sweden, sharing the signal graces that those who practiced the devotion would received:

1. ”I will grant peace to their families."
2. ”They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries."
3. ”I will console them in their pains and will accompany them in their work."
4. ”I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."
5. ”I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."
6. ”I will visibly help them at the moment of their death-- they will see the face of their mother."
7. ”I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

In addition to an increase in devotion to Our Lady’s Seven Sorrows, Mary’s apparitions in Rwanda resulted in a resurgence of prayer and conversion. However, not enough people heeded Our Lady’s calls for repentance. On August 15, 1982, during the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady appeared to Alphonsine. The young visionary was struck by Mary’s sorrowful countenance. All the visionaries were shown a river of blood, people killing each other and abandoned corpses with no one to bury them.

This vision was a foretelling of Rwandan’s 1994 genocide, a tragedy which claimed the lives of over one million people within a span of ten months during the merciless persecution of anyone who belonged to the Tutsi tribe and their supporters. The atrocities were committed by the rival Hutu tribe and organized by the Hutu-led government. 

Immaculée Iligabiza, who was mentioned in the email that I received, is a famous, Catholic author who wrote the harrowing, yet beautiful book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. The Rwandan native recounted her survival of the genocide after being taken in by a local pastor who hid her and seven other women in his 3x4 foot bathroom for 91 days. During that time, almost her entire family was killed.

Immaculée is an incredible woman of faith with a strong devotion to Mary, whose Immaculate Heart she was named after. She travels the world, sharing her story of faith, forgiveness of the killers and speaking about the power of prayer. Immaculée has written several books about the apparitions in Kibeho including, Our Lady of Kibeho, The Boy Who Met Jesus and A Blessing in Disguise: Miracles of the Seven Sorrows Rosary.

The day after I received that email about Kibeho and Immaculée, I received an email from my Catholic community group announcing that Immaculée would be leading a retreat in our town in a few days. God’s Providence seemed to be at work, so my husband agreed to take the day off work so that I could hear Immaculée speak. I attended the retreat and was struck by her strength and serenity, considering all of the suffering that she experienced. While there, I purchased The Boy Who Met Jesus (which I highly recommend). I also purchased a seven sorrows rosary, which I was quite unfamiliar with.

As I approached Immaculée to have her sign my copy of the book in the vestibule of a local parish in Ventura, California, I was prepared to tell her about the charity that I founded after my parents passed away and about our work in caring for the orphaned in my home country of Nigeria. It was a story that I had told with composure countless times and my hope was that she would pray for our ministry. As soon as I mentioned my parent’s passing, I began crying uncontrollably (and very publicly). Honestly, I was shocked at what was happening to me, but I couldn’t make the tears stop. An interesting thing about grief is the way that it creeps up at the most unexpected moments, especially in holy places and around others who have also experienced loss. God recognizes when our burdens need to be released, even when the timing appears inopportune to us.

I later discovered that there were apparitions by several other visionaries that the Church has not yet recognized, but still continues to investigate. One of them is detailed in The Boy Who Met Jesus, in which Jesus appears to a 15-year-old pagan boy named Segatashya.

The apparitions of Kibeho were countless and occurred for exactly eight years, officially ending with Mary’s final appearance to Alphonsine on November 28, 1989. Our Lady said that the messages from Kibeho were not just for Rwanda, but for the whole world. And they do not solely contain warnings for repentance, as crucial as that message is. “After one apparition, Marie Claire commented that one of Our Lady’s greatest sorrows during her many visits to Kibeho was that not enough people truly listened to the loving advice and counsel she offered through her visionaries,” Immaculée writes in her book Our Lady of Kibeho. Mary also shared many revelations about the sacred mysteries with the visionaries, including additional details about her sorrow. Immaculée, who developed a close relationship with the visionaries, writes about many of these revelations in her books.

After I returned home from the retreat, I said the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows for the first time. Within the first few days of reciting it, I was given an enormous grace - one that I viewed as impossible, if not by a miracle. I will be forever grateful and am pleased to spread its devotion. Many miracles have been attributed to its recitation. 

When given the mission to share the rosary of the Seven Sorrows with the world, Marie Claire said, “Mother, you want me to teach the whole world the Seven Sorrows rosary? I don’t even have the money to go to the next city. How do you expect me to teach the whole world?’ Our Lady replied, “My child. My grace can do all things. You just do your part. I have many children in the world. You do your part, and the grace of God will take it to the next person.”

Mary Claire was tragically killed during the Rwandan genocide. May she rest eternally.

Her mission, shared with that of St. Bridget of Sweden, was accomplished as devotion to the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows continues to spread throughout the world.

I thank God and our Blessed Mother for that providential email which brought the treasures of Kibeho to my attention. May we all heed Our Lady’s messages and in doing so, renew the face of the earth. 

Our Lady of Kibeho, pray for us.

Muji Kaiser is a Catholic writer, speaker and founder of the Okaja Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit that provides aid to Catholic organizations serving orphaned and poverty-stricken children in her home country of Nigeria. She lives in Southern California with her husband and five children. To learn more about her ministry, visit theokajafoundation.org.