The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kabgayi ( la, Kabgayen(sis)) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

located in the city of Kabgayi in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

History

* April 25, 1922: The

Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda The Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda was created on 25 April 1922 from the northern part of the former Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu, serving the territory of what is now Rwanda. It was led by Bishop Léon-Paul Classe of the White Fathers. The Apostol ...

was established from the northern part of the

Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu The Apostolic Vicariate of Kivu is the name that was given to two vicariates of the White Fathers, a Catholic missionary society in the Latin Roman Rite Catholic Church. Both vicariates served lands around Lake Kivu during the colonial era. The fi ...

. * February 14, 1952: The Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda was divided into the Apostolic Vicariate of Kabgayi and the Apostolic Vicariate of Nyundo. * November 10, 1959: The Apostolic Vicariate of Kabgayi was promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kabgayi. * April 10, 1976: Demoted as Diocese of Kabgayi; became a suffragan of Kigali

Leadership

; Vicars Apostolic of Ruanda * Léon-Paul Classe, M. Afr. (1922.04.10 - 1945.01.31) * Laurent-François Déprimoz, M. Afr. (1945.01.31 – 1952.02.14) ; Vicars Apostolic of Kabgayi * Laurent-François Déprimoz, M. Afr. (1952.02.14 – 1955.04.15) * André Perraudin, M. Afr. (1955.12.19 – 1959.11.10) ; Metropolitan Archbishop of Kabgayi * André Perraudin, M. Afr. (1959.11.10 – 1976.04.10) ; Bishops of Kabgayi * André Perraudin,

M. Afr. , image = Cardinal Lavigerie.jpg , caption = Charles Lavigerie , abbreviation = M.Afr. , nickname = White Fathers , formation = , founder = Archbishop Charles-Martial Allema ...

(1976.04.10 – 1989.10.07) *

Thaddée Nsengiyumva Thaddée Nsengiyumva (17 March 1949 - 8 June 1994) was the Bishop of Kabgayi in Rwanda. He was killed at Kabgayi during the Rwandan genocide. Thaddée Nsengiyumva was born at Bungwe on 17 March 1949. He was ordained a priest on 20 July 1975. On 1 ...

(1989.10.07 – 1994.06.0) ** Fr.

André Sibomana André Sibomana (1954–1998) was a Rwandan priest and journalist and an exemplary figure in the Rwandan genocide. He was also a human rights activist and a founder of the Rwandan Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Person and of Publ ...

(Apostolic Administrator 1994.11.11 – 1996.03.13) * Anastase Mutabazi (1996.03.13 – 2004.12.10) *

Smaragde Mbonyintege Smaragde Mbonyintege (born 2 February 1947) is a Rwandan prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Kabgayi in Rwanda from 2006 to 2023. Smaragde Mbonyintege was born on 2 February 1947 in Cyeza parish, Kabgayi diocese, in the current Kay ...

(21 January 2006 – 2 May 2023) * Balthazar Ntivuguruzwa, bishop elect (2 May 2023 – present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* Laurent-François Déprimoz, M. Afr. (1943-1945), Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic *

(1987-1989)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Jean-Baptiste Gahamanyi, appointed Bishop of Astrida in 1961 * Joseph Sibomana, appointed Bishop of Ruhengeri in 1961

References

External links