Wenceslas Kalibushi (29 June 1919 – 20 December 1997) was a
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 ...
n Catholic bishop.
Wenceslas Kalibushi was born on 29 June 1919 at
Byimana, Rwanda.
He was ordained a priest on 25 July 1947.
On 9 December 1976 he was appointed bishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nyundo,
and he was consecrated by Archbishop
Vincent Nsengiyumva
Vincent Nsengiyumva (February 10, 1936 – June 7, 1994) was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kigali from 1976 until his death.
Born in Rwaza, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1966.
...
on 27 March 1977.
His principal co-consecrators were Archbishop
André Perraudin and Bishop
Aloys Bigirumwami
Aloys Bigirumwami (December 22, 1904 – June 3, 1986) was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Nyundo from 1959 to 1973, having previously served as its apostolic vicar.
Birth and education
Aloys Bigirumwami wa ...
.
Kalibushi was one of the few priests to speak out against government actions during the lead-up to the
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
.
On 28 December 1993 he and the priests of
Kibuye and
Gisenyi issued a letter that criticized the government for issuing arms to civilians.
His letter asked the authorities to "clearly explain to the public the utility of the arms that had been distributed during recent days."
Perhaps because of Kalibushi's willingness to support Tutsis and his criticism of the government, his compound at Nyundo was one of the first targets of the Hutu extremists.
The morning after the death of President
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible".
An ethn ...
,
on 7 April 1994 a number of
Tutsi
The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
families came to
Nyundo for safety.
A large, hostile and armed crowd arrived, and the killing began, including women and children who took refuge in the chapel.
On the morning of 8 April the militia captured the bishop, stripped him and threatened to kill him, but were stopped by an army officer.
Bishop Kalibushi was taken to Gisenyi and was later released at the request of the Vatican.
On 3 May Mgr.
Vincent Nsengiyumva
Vincent Nsengiyumva (February 10, 1936 – June 7, 1994) was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kigali from 1976 until his death.
Born in Rwaza, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1966.
...
wrote a letter to the Christians of Nyundo reassuring them that Kalibushi was safe and sound,
and that rumors that he had fled to Nairobi were false.
Kalibushi retired on 2 January 1997 and died on 20 December 1997.
References
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalibushi, Wenceslas
1919 births
1997 deaths
People from Ruhango District
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Rwanda
Rwandan Roman Catholic bishops
Roman Catholic bishops of Nyundo