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Our Lady of Kibeho

“Never refuse any who ask you for help; if your pockets are empty, give them hope. Your every action must be born of kindness, your every word spoken with love. Live as God would have you live, and others will be inspired to do the same.”

Updated: December 18, 2023
Kibeho Image

image: Bintu utuje, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Introduction

Have you ever stopped to think what a blessing it would be to be present for an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or to be just a part of such a holy and wonderful event? When we think about such a happening, we probably first think about Lourdes or Fatima, Guadalupe, and there are a number of others much less known but recognized as real.

She makes a lot of visits, and these have to be for a reason, and these are nothing new either. The first recorded apparition of the Blessed Virgin took place way back in the year 40 and that was before her assumption. The Apostle Saint James was preaching the Gospel in Spain and was disheartened by what he felt was his lack of success.

The Blessed Mother appeared to him with a small gift, asking for a church to be built in her honor. And she left a memento with him as she encouraged him to continue his efforts. Within the year he had built a chapel in what is now known as Zaragoza, which houses a memento of her visit. And she’s known there today as Our Lady of the Pilar, which remains one of Spain’s most popular pilgrimage sites.

Kibeho

Since her visit of that time, she has been back to this planet Earth many times over the centuries. But today, I want to tell you about one of her visits in our time, in which you may not be as familiar, where one of her titles is “Our Lady of Kibeho.” To do so, we must go back to November of 1981 to the continent of Africa and the village of Kibeho in the country of Rwanda.

In that village there was a Catholic girls’ school, much like a boarding school except it was very poor by our standards with no running water or electricity, and It was operated by an order of nuns. The school also had many Protestant students as well as several Muslim students. But for now, we’ll focus on a young girl named Alfonsine, who was even poorer than most, but a happy child who attended Mass every Sunday with her mother and was incredibly lucky to have been able to attend the school.

Though she was a diligent worker, her studies were difficult. It was a Saturday, November 28th of 1981. Alphonsine was filling glasses in the school cafeteria when she heard someone call her name. It sounded like it came from a nearby corridor, and she followed the sound with a great deal of apprehension. As she did, all the laughter and voices from the dining room suddenly disappeared, and there was silence.

The Beautiful Lady

It was then Alphonsine heard a voice that beckoned her, saying, “My child.” Lost to the sounds and space of her surroundings, she saw a misty white cloud in the air ahead of her. As the words were repeated again, a lady more beautiful than she had ever seen materialized from the luminous cloud. The beautiful lady drifted toward her with her feet never touching the ground.

In absolute awe, Alphonsine asked, “Who are you?” And the lady answered, “I am the mother of the Word.” They exchanged a few sentences and then the lady said, “I want your friends and schoolmates to have your faith, for they do not have enough.” She told Alphonsine that she wanted to be loved and trusted by people everywhere so that she could lead lost souls to salvation through Jesus. And then she added, “Now watch as I return to heaven to be with my son.”

And with that, the beautiful lady disappeared into the fading mist and was gone. Alphonsine collapsed on the floor where she lay semi-conscious for more than ten minutes. She was unaware that her schoolmates had been watching her continue the conversation with the Vision and as she regained consciousness the screeching sound of her classmates jarred her back to reality and she burst into tears. When she finally composed herself, she blurted out, “The Blessed Mother spoke to me.”

Well, you can imagine the reaction of her classmates who started laughing at her and making fun of her. The one who led the criticism the most viciously was a girl named Marie Claire, one of the most popular girls in the whole school.

She led the verbal assaults, suggesting that this was her attempt to get attention and to feel important. One of the nuns intervened while warning Alphonsine of the dangers and lying about such a story. The young girl broke into tears saying that she couldn’t explain what had happened, but that it was real.

She was even sent to a nurse who said she was fine, and then she was ordered to tell the student body that she lied. But she refused. The following day was the first Sunday of Advent, and in the dormitory, a group of students led by Marie Claire were taunting Alphonsine and calling her names.

More Visions

As the tears started to stream down her cheeks, Alphonsine saw a beautiful mist forming in the air again above her and she immediately fell to her knees looking upward, oblivious to the mocking of the girls. Well, as the mist cleared, her Heavenly Mother was there again to reassure her as she said, “My child, I love you. Never be afraid of me. Play with me. I love children who play with me. No child should ever fear his or her mother, and I am your mother. You should always love me as I love you.”

And then she was gone. 

When Alphonsine regained her composure, Marie Claire was there tormenting her as usual. Well, the apparitions were to continue in the dormitory on Saturdays throughout December, and Marie Claire’s anger increased. A priest even encouraged her to torment Alfonsine until she confessed that the story was false. Alfonsine even prayed that her heavenly visitor would appear to someone else to prove she was telling the truth.

The number of apparitions was increasing, and after every visit, Alphonsine would be, well, she would relay the messages she had received, pray the rosary every day, just like the message of Fatima, and she was to tell Alphonsine that the world was in a bad way with hatred and sin, and the world needed to change. Alphonsine was also given messages for the leaders of the country to love one another and to be fair to each other.

A Second Girl Sees Our Lady

Storm clouds were beginning to develop between two groups in the country and Alphonsine begged for the leaders to be fair, kind, and to be understanding. On Tuesday, January 12th, 1982, the Lady of Kibeho made another visit, but this time to someone else. Seventeen-year-old Anathalie was a member of the Legion of Mary, devoured in her faith, and prayed the rosary every day, and was recognized as one of the most pious girls in the school.

In the early evening, as she visited the chapel accompanied by several other girls, as she started to lead them in prayer, she suddenly felt strange. Her heart was racing, and the chapel suddenly appeared dark. She blinked her eyes and as she opened them there was a distant light that was providing a kind of illumination. She no longer saw her friends and she seemed to be in the midst of blinking lights, and she began to cry.

The light became brighter, and she heard a voice coming from the light saying, “I am sad because I have sent a message, and no one will listen to my words as I desire. Your tears are a punishment not because you have sinned against me but to serve as a reminder that I can punish those who choose to ignore my messages. My child, you must pray for the world in a horrible way. People have turned from the love of God and the love of my son Jesus.”

A Vision of the Future

She gave Anathalie a glimpse of her future and she said, “So many souls are running to ruin that I need your help to turn them back to my son.” She added, “As long as you are on this earth, you have to contribute to the salvation of souls. If you will collaborate with me, I shall give you a mission to lead those lost souls back from the darkness. If you accept this mission, you must also accept all the suffering I send you with joy, love, and patience. No one goes to heaven without suffering.”

After her visit with Anathalie, the Blessed Mother told her to open the book by Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, and to read the first words she saw. Well, after some time, Anethole began to emerge from a trance-like state, similar to that experienced by Alphonsine, surrounded by several other students and nuns. And like Alphonsine, she would begin to experience a series of heavenly visits with special messages.

She opened the book by Thomas A. Kempis, and the first thing her eyes saw was the phrase “The things of this world are short-lived, but Heaven’s wealth is eternal.” Well, news of the Blessed Mother’s appearances moved through Rwanda like lightning, energizing the faith of countless Christians from peasants to the religious.

Marie Curie’s Attacks Intensify

As you can imagine, if Marie Claire was angered by Alphonsine claiming to have been visited by the Blessed Mother, you can easily visualize the rage caused by Anatholie’s visions. Marie Claire was so upset that she personally called on the bishop to enlist his aid in the battle she intended to wage. The bishop told her he was aware of what was happening, and that the situation was being closely monitored.

Marie Claire was livid. In fact, she was so incensed at the thought that the two girls were in cahoots to hoodwink the bishop that she was motivated even more to prove that everyone was being fooled by deception.  To make the situation even more explosive, local news media were covering the reported apparitions, and many people were using handheld recording devices to tape the one-way conversations of the girl as they spoke to the Blessed Mother.

Marie Claire was going to make certain that the record was made straight, and the girls exposed as frauds. In fact, she had become so hostile that one of the priests who had earlier encouraged her to attack Alphonsine cautioned her not to be so vitriolic and to tone down her personal attacks. However, she had become so angry that she had no intention of stopping her attacks and it would take a miracle for her to stop.

Marie Curie Receives Evil Vision

It was now the first of March, 1982. The two girls were still receiving heavenly visits. As you can imagine, Marie Claire was again beside herself. March first was a day of school and Marie Claire was walking in the garden by school when she suddenly felt light-headed and then fainted. As she was regaining consciousness, she expected to see the sunlight. However, instead, she realized that she was in darkness.

Feeling lost in some weird space, she was suddenly aware of the most violent smells that sickened her, smells like she had never experienced, smells like rotting flesh. The school was nearby, and she ran for the building and as she raced inside, the smells instantly stopped, and daylight returned to her vision. She found she was in the chapel and her clothes were wet. She was found unconscious and brought into the chapel where a nun had splashed holy water on her.

No one could explain what had happened. She went to her room badly shaken and later in the evening started to write to her mother that she wanted to come home, but then she lapsed into unconsciousness again. This time, strange voices were speaking to her, raspy voices that seemed threatening and evil, remarking that more of them were coming for her. All of this with threatening phrases, and then suddenly she was awake again.

Alphonsine Helps Marie Curie

Only she wasn’t in her room, she was back in the chapel surrounded by a number of her classmates, including Alphonsine, who knelt beside her and handed her a little statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, telling her that it would protect her from the evil ones. The following day, Alphonsine recognized that she was about to receive another apparition and went to the chapel, followed by the nuns and an incredibly angry Marie Claire.

Inside the chapel, Marie Claire again had the feeling of lightheadedness, and that she was about to faint. And fearing those evil ones were returning.  Instead she found herself in a beautiful place, with beautiful colors of every hue that made her feel at peace. And then she heard her name being called. Not knowing what to expect, she was on guard, and a bit hostile, as she spun around that a voice that had the beauty of a song spoke to her.

“Never be afraid of your mother.” With a trembling voice, Marie Claire explained she was afraid the devils of the night before had returned and then she was told, “They will not frighten you again.” Marie Claire realized that she was in the presence of the Mother of God who asked her to sing. She explained she didn’t have a good voice and then realized her enemy, Anatholie, was there beside her.

Two Enemies Become Friends

The two enemies joined in a song of praise to the amazement of about thirty students who were now watching. Well, the biggest surprise was when Marie Claire declared that she, too, had been visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary. As you would expect, this was a life-altering experience for Marie Claire, who begged for forgiveness for her treatment of Alfonsine and Anatholie

And what is even more surprising is that her entire character and personality changed overnight. She would become kind, thoughtful, and holy for the rest of her life, as she also became the recipient of special visits from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, who referred to Marie Claire as The Cherished of the Blessed Mother. The Blessed Mother told the girls that she would visit each one in the courtyard of the school on March 25th, and it was her wish that all the students be present.

She would visit with each of the three girls at that time, and that everyone should kneel down and pray the rosary during the apparitions. And if they did, she promised that for the next six years, every student would graduate. And incidentally, that is exactly what happened, something exceedingly rare, but she kept her word.

Word Spreads

As you can imagine, the word of Kibeho and its special visitor was known throughout Rwanda and thousands were coming to pray and be a part of the apparitions that were to continue with the girls receiving different and special messages, and particularly warnings. People came in droves, not to mention representatives of the bishop and from as far away as Rome, but as expected the diocese and the Church was silent.

But the nuns in the school were fast becoming believers as the special visions of Alphonsine, Anatholie, and Marie Claire continued.  The number of people present reached as high as 10,000. This was big news in Rwanda, but most people in the rest of the world were unaware of what was happening there. With the lack of transportation, many people would walk days to Kibeho to be present for these special visits; and there were no motels or fast-food restaurants along the way.

During Visions, Nothing Could Distract Them

As the girls would go into their trances for their heavenly visits, they were examined. They were pinched, prodded, had their hair pulled, had their skins stuck by pins, and on several occasions had needles pushed into their fingernails during the apparitions.  But these acts did not affect them, and they didn’t feel them at all. Nothing, nothing could distract them from their Heavenly Visitor.

The messages were many. They were for Rwanda, but they were also for the whole world. Marie Claire would often voice the Blessed Mother’s worry about the salvation of the souls of her children and would repeat over and over again a message for the world:  “Repent. Repent. Repent.” It’s interesting to note that at the end of the apparitions, the girls would each collapse and have to be helped away, unable to stand. Alphonsine explained that the Blessed Mother gave them strength, but when she left, all their strength was gone, and they needed help.

Alfonsine Enters Into A Deep Trace

In March of 1982, Alfonsine was told that she would be taken on a special journey.  She was to give definite instructions to others that she was not to be buried and that she was not dead.  She also wrote a note of explanation to the bishop who had set up a commission to investigate all aspects of the apparitions. 

This sounded strange.  When Alfonsine failed to show up for dinner, a nun went up to her room to check on her and found her unresponsive and actually thought her dead.  Her pulse rate was unbelievably low, as was her blood pressure. Her oxygen level was only enough to barely sustain life.

Six men tried to lift her but were unable.  After eighteen hours she regained consciousness, saying that she had been shown places of life after death which she would describe in great detail.

Visions of Horror and Dread

Perhaps the most important of the visions was when later Alphonsine was experiencing an apparition.  She screamed in horror and burst into tears, seeing the images before her of gushing blood, mutilated dead bodies piled high without being buried, all kinds of horrors taking place in the streets as her Beautiful Visitor shed tears of sorrow. Alphonsine was told, “The world is on the verge of catastrophe. If you don’t take refuge in God, where will you go to hide?” The people had received a warning, but they ignored it and did what they wanted.

But in the next decade, the Hooti ethnic groups in Rwanda organized a horrible war that killed about 800,000 Tutsi tribespeople, mostly with machetes. And horrors of every kind were inflicted on the Tutsi people, and there was, indeed, a river of blood exactly as Alphonsine had been shown, and her visions were accurate to the most minute detail. And then they were accepted by everyone from peasants to the Pope, and the Church finally approved the apparitions of the three girls.

There were other visionaries, too, whose stories were amazing, and they, too, someday may be accepted. But the heavenly visits of Our Lady of Kibeho to Alphonsine, Anathalie, and Marie Claire have been approved as valid and worthy of belief.

Apparitions Approved

Alphonsine has since become a cloistered nun. Anthelia remained in Kibeho where she promised the Blessed Mother to stay and help bring souls to God. And Marie Claire? Well, she died in the genocide that was predicted by the Blessed Mother.

The stories surrounding Our Lady of Kibeho are so many and I’ve only been able to mention just a few; but the most important message from Our Lady of Kibeho was the same message given at Fatima when she said, “Do not offend God anymore, because He is already too greatly offended.” Maybe, just maybe, that might be something to remember.

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