Histoire du vicariat

Chap. I : A DIOCESE PLACED UNDER THE SHELTER OF THE HOLLY SPIRIT
First of all, Bishop Bigirumwami indicated in three signals the path he was going to follow in the government of his Diocese: his consecration, the Day of Pentecost, the name of his motto Induamur arma lucis (Endow us weapons of light) and the name of his pastoral magazine Cum Paraclito meaning “Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit”. We understand why he needed so much this help of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, a new black bishop, appointed to head a Diocese in an african country, in a period that announced the upheavals of independence, the protection of the Holy Spirit was the most essential resort.
Enlightened the Holy Spirit, Bishop Bigirumwami launches a journal, Cum Paraclito, in which he intends to discuss, reflect and start some new pastoral and catechetical innovations. Until that time, a review of this type was unknown in Rwanda. The Diocese of Kabgayi had only a leaflet named Le Trait d’Union (The Hyphen). This leaflet was limited, precisely, to transmit the news and decisions of the bishop. Thus the new bishop intends to bring innovations in this field. He wants a clergy that could think out loud and even write. He had, no doubt, to keep a long time in his heart a great regret. The Rwandan clergy of those years had developed an extraordinary literary and artistic activity, which had never been published. It’s worth remembering. In 1935, a White Father, Vincent de Decker, arrived in Rwanda and was appointed professor at the Junior Seminary of Nyakibanda. Philosopher and artist, this remarkable missionary communicated to the Seminarians the taste of research in different areas of Rwandan culture: in music, poetry and traditional medicine. He then helped some Seminarians to acquire some skills in the following arts: drum beating, playing guitar and research on traditional decorative motifs. In these various areas, we know Rwandan priests who specialized in some of them and produced works of high quality. In music, let us quote Fathers Alfred Sebakiga and Eustace Byusa. In poetry, we know the great historian Alexis Kagame. In traditional medicine, we know Fathers Thomas Bazarusanga and Télesphore Kayinamura. In other traditional arts, let us mention the following names: Michel Rwabigwi in the collection of decorative motifs, Michel Seyoboka in music of the drums and Viateur Kabarira in music of the guitar.
To find a framework of developing all this research, Father de Decker had created for them a framework on the sidelines of the seminary, called: Cercle Saint-Paul (St Paul’s Circle). Among the research within this circle that still exists today, we know the work concerning the customs and habits, the traditional religion and the history of pre-colonial Rwanda. All these productions of the clergy had never been the subject of any comprehensive and appropriate publication to constitute a legacy worthy of the name. By creating this journal, Bishop Bigirumwami wanted, no doubt, to fill this gap. From then on, Rwandan priests could use this journal to publicize their work. Taking advantage of this opportunity, in 1965, I myself published in that journal, in collaboration with Joseph Majabo, a booklet entitled Imana y' u Rwanda. Unfortunately, the history we have had since then did not allow us to achieve this goal. Since the introduction of the republican system, proponents of that regime behaved as if nothing good had been done before them and that everything should begin anew.

Chap. II : INDEPENDENCE

IN THE GOVERNMENT OF NYUNDO DIOCESE
When Bishop Bigirumwami was appointed bishop for the 2^nd Diocese of Rwanda, the bishop of Kabgayi and his missionaries who had participated in his episcopal promotion had prepared for him a team of close collaborators. Among these, it was necessary to appoint his Vicar General, the General Treasurer, the Rector of his Junior seminary and the Parish Priest of Nyundo cathedral. The Diocese was thus fairly balanced for the young bishop to avoid missteps in the beginning. Quite spontaneously, Bishop Bigirumwami refused this gift which could be poisoned. He set up his own team made up of the Vicar General, Luis Gasore, the General Treasurer, Wenceslas Karibushi, the Rector of the Junior Seminary, Matthieu Ntahoruburiye and the Parish Priest of Nyundo cathedral, Déogratias Mbandiwimfura.

With regard to the Missionaries already working in the Parishes located in the new Diocese, the bishop adopted an attitude of brotherly kindness. As for the new alien Missionaries, he inaugurated a bold approach. Instead of recruiting Missionaries already trained from outside, and thus distorted to some extent for Africa, he preferred to welcome young candidates and put them in the Senior Seminary of Nyakibanda. In this way, these young expatriates, after having lived and studied with Rwandan seminarians in the same training house, they would come out ready and willing to serve under the orders of a Rwandan bishop. In my time, I studied in the Senior Seminary with 6 white seminarians from Nyundo Diocese: Fathers Paul Kesenne, Albert Cattoir, Jean-Baptiste Mendiondo, Raymond Delporte, Gabriel Maindron and Joseph Schmetz. The fact of depending directly and exclusively from the bishop of Nyundo, without reference to another religious authority, put these young foreign priests at home in collaboration with other Rwandan priests incardinated in the same Diocese.

Chap. III: THE TRAINING OF HIS CLERGY

At the time of creating Nyundo Diocese, in 1952, the Rwandan priests were the only ones to have had a teaching of university level at Nyakibanda Senior Seminary. Other schools that gave a more or less training of high level were the Groupe Scolaire of Butare which was preparing auxiliary cadres for the colonial Administration of the country as well as the School of Monitors of Zaza which trained quality teachers for primary schools. But, in these years in which African countries were being prepared to recover their national sovereignty, the Church was also preparing the Dioceses to move from the responsibility of foreign Missionaries to that of local pastors. To do this, the training of higher education was the surest way. At the time of his episcopal ordination, only one Rwandan priest was carrying a university degree of the first category: Father Déogratias Mbandiwimfura. He had obtained a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Urban University of Rome, in 1947.

During the 15 years that followed, until the date of independence of Rwanda in 1962, the country had 4 other Doctors in various scientific disciplines: Alexis Kagame Doctor of Philosophy of Rome in 1952, Janvier Murenzi Doctor of social, political and diplomatic Sciences of the University of Louvain in 1952, Bernard Manyurane Doctor in Canonical Law of Rome in 1956 and Stanislas Bushayija Doctor in Canon Law of Rome in 1961.
At the end of his episcopal term in 1974, among the 26 Rwandan priests Doctors in various scientific disciplines, the Diocese of Nyundo had only 12 Doctors, i.e. 47%. It is thus necessary to acknowledge that Bishop Bigirumwami was the principal promoter of higher education for the children of this country before the year of independence and even shortly after. By doing this, he largely contributed to the progress of Rwanda until the foundation of the first National University of Rwanda by Dominican Fathers of Canada in 1963.
When Bishop Bigirumwami was appointed bishop of Nyundo, Rwanda had only one Senior Seminary, that of Nyakibanda in the old Province of Nyaruguru. In its beginnings, this seminary was receiving seminarians coming from 3 countries: Burundi, Kivu of the Belgian Congo and Rwanda. Shortly after the foundation of Nyundo Diocese, Bishop Bigirumwami was obliged to open his senior seminary at Nyundo. It should be recalled here that the election of Bishop Bigirumwami arrived in the years when Rwanda was being prepared to immediately recover its national sovereignty. By that time, the Senior Seminary of Nyakibanda had become the focus of various political movements. Indeed, some teachers of this seminary had become political advisers of Hutu leaders who were active in colonialo-Hutu political movements such as: Joseph Gitera, Gregoire Kayibanda and their accomplices. Among these White Fathers teachers let us name the following: Father Jan Adriaenssens, and Léopold Vermeersch.
The two professors worked with Belgian professors and officials of Butare among whom the most famous are: Marcel d' Hertefelt, André Coupez, Jacques Maquet, Bernard Lugan and a former White Father called Roger Heremans. It is this group of Butare, together with their colleagues abroad, who undertook the writing of their Rwandan history according to which all the misfortunes of Rwanda were brought by the Tutsi since long ago. To these two groups, it is necessary to add also other Missionaries, particularly known across the country. Among those one can mention the White Fathers: Arthur Dejemeppe. This one was for some time serving as Pro-Vicar of Kabgayi Diocese between the resignation of Bishop Laurent Déprimoz and the nomination of Bishop Andre Perraudin. The militancy of Dejemeppe was continued and even intensified by his successor. It is known that he was made famous for two politically disastrous positions. He wrote a Letter called Super omnia Cartas in which he asserted that all the misfortunes of the Hutu come from the Tutsi. These are the ideas he communicated to the Special Resident Guy Logiest and that the latter put into practice to get rid of the Tutsi from the political face of Rwanda and by making the Hutu the only masters of Rwanda affairs.
Let us not forget also Father Naveau who founded the Society of the African Catholic Students (SECA). It is this political movement, spread out in the schools of Rwanda, which was at the basis of political unrest at schools and made of the youth the instrument of desolation throughout the country. Naveau was a priest of Namur Diocese in Belgium, recruited by Bishop Bigirumwami for his Diocese. After all the damages he caused in schools, Bishop Perraudin himself took the initiative to drive him out of country because he found that his hatred against the Tutsi was almost demonic. It is all these colonialists, in robes or pants, who popularized the racist ideology and invented the history of Rwanda made in Europe.

Let us add two pieces of information concerning the two major initiators of the colonialo-Parmehutu militancy. Jan Adriaenssens joined the White Fathers a bit later. Before entering this missionary society, he had worked and militated in the movement of the Flemish trade unionism. It is in this movement that opposed Flemish and Walloons where he learnt divisionism that he imported to Rwanda. It took the Hutu for Flemings and the Tutsi for Walloons. In the Senior Seminary, he taught us the Course of Missiology which was like a kind of introduction to Catholic colonization of African countries. After leaving Rwanda, he defrocked. It was the normal continuation of his adventure in Rwanda. As for Léopold Vermeersch, his colonialo-parmehutu militancy played a harmful part on the two bishops. Bishop André Perraudin, by the time he was Rector of Nyakibanda Senior Seminary, he did not show any racial bias. So much so that when he was appointed bishop I dedicated to him an Ode titled “A Pastor with happy omens”. It is Father Vermeersch who contaminated him with his racist ideas. After leaving Nyakibanda, he skillfully maneuvered to become Vicar General of the young bishop, Vincent Nsengiyumva, who was freshly appointed archbishop of Kigali. It is difficult to ignore the harmful influence in political matters that this Vicar exerted on his bishop. It is, perhaps, this influence which caused the tragic and regrettable end of our former archbishop.

Within the seminary itself the crisis was very deep. It was believed that all seminarians of Nyakibanda had become rotten. Consequently what remained was only to close the seminary and seek another method of forming the future clergy worthy of the name. To this end, in 1960, a long retreat was organized in the parish of Save, and entrusted to a Burundian Jesuit Father Gabriel Barakana. During this retreat, each seminarian was invited to think twice and wonder whether he was really in his right place. The superior would regularly pass by to see how many had decided to quit and to help the hesitant to make up their minds. I remember he came to my room and asked me whether I had made up my mind. I answered him: “after having consulted our preacher in the retreat, I understood that my sacred duty is to remain within the seminary to become priest. If my superiors think otherwise, up to them the responsibility in front of God to dismiss me. In saying that, I thought in myself: I will never help my grave-diggers. It should be noted here that during this forced retreat, about 60 seminarians were obliged to leave the seminary.

To remedy this situation, our Superiors requested the Company of Saint-Sulpice Priests, specialized in the training of the diocesan clergy, to take over the administration of the Senior Seminary of Nyakibanda instead of the White Fathers. This Company sent to Nyakibanda two priests, Fathers Edouard Cavelleau and Blaise Forissier. This resort to Sulpician Fathers was boycotted by White Fathers. Finally, the bishops of Rwanda placed at the head of the Senior Seminary Rwandan priests: Matthew Ntahoruburiye, as Rector, Déogratias Mbandiwimfura and Bernard Manyurane as lecturers. A few years later, this solution had been made untenable. Then taking his courage as usual, Bishop Bigirumwami created his own Senior Seminary at Nyundo with Matthew Ntahoruburiye as Rector, accompanied by Father Déogratias Mbandiwimfura. The destructive criticism of foreign Missionaries had led people to believe that Rwandans had become unfit for priesthood. Faced with this affront, it was necessary to prove the opposite. It is under these conditions that coexisted two Senior Seminaries in Rwanda.
In the following lines, we will see how sheer persecution against Nyundo Diocese eventually obliged the last trainees of this Seminary of Nyundo to seek refuge in the Senior Seminary of Bujumbura in Burundi. It is only after the replacement of Bishop Bigirumwami at the head of Nyundo Diocese that all the Senior Seminarians of Rwanda met again at Nyakibanda. The political climate in the country had become at bit calmer. Thus Nyakibanda could resume its former responsibility of being nursery of priests worthy of Rwanda. Bishop Aloys Bigirumwami thus became the last hope of the Rwandan clergy.


Chap. IV: A DEEP CULTURAL EVANGELISM

Among the Rwandan intellectuals who have done serious research and published works in the areas of traditional Rwandan culture, the name of Bigirumwami is an obligatory reference. In fact, they were not many. As we know, Bigirumwami had only attended studies that were available in Rwanda: Junior and Senior Seminary. It can thus be astonishing that a priest of his time who had no academic qualifications could write and publish books we know on his prize list. Before explaining how a diocesan priest could devote himself to the profession of a writer, let us first of all give the approximate list of his great publications in a chronological order: Imigani migufi (Proverbs), in 1967; Imigani miremire (moral Tales), in 1971; Ibitekerezo (Oral traditions), in 1971; Imihango (Habits), in 1974; Imana y' Abantu - Imana mu Bantu (Religious anthropology), in 1976; Umuntu (Christian Anthropology), in 1983. As is visible, 4 areas are targeted: 1. sapiential literature, 2. popular traditions, 3. customs, 4. anthropological theology. Bishop Bigirumwami was not an office researcher. He was a Pastor of parishes for 23 years. One may wonder then how and why he could publish so many works which presuppose a diligent research and a considerable amount of time? The answer is not to invent. More than once, he explained it. It is questions of his Christians that motivated him. Those queries were to find answers in the area of Rwandan culture. Using his various collaborators, both men and women, he collected a monumental documentation reflected in his books. When he became bishop, he decided to publish the result of all this research. As we have just seen, all these publications can be reduced to two categories. The 1st includes collections, the 2nd is a theological reflection on the content of these collections.

For the first time, I knew closely Bishop Bigirumwami the very day of his coronation in 1952. That day, a reception in his honor was organized at the Junior Seminary of Kabgayi where I was in the last year. On this occasion, I had the honor to recite to him the poem entitled Mugabwa-mbere = The first Rwandan bishop. From then on, we remained in contact. At his request, I could undertake some work. I began the translation and the comment of his main book: Imigani miremire. Two volumes have already appeared on the 1st part: Moral Tales of Rwanda, I-II, (UNR, 1987, 1989). The 2nd part, which will include also two volumes, is under preparation. It is also at his invitation that I published a book on our traditional Religion: The God of our fathers, in 3 volumes (Bujumbura 1974, 1975, 1981. In the first page of this 3rd volume, I posted the photograph of Bishop Bigirumwami, accompanied by a dedication formulated in these terms: “I dedicate this book to the man who is, for me, a successful model among the Christians Imanist”. Later, I published another book that summarized and completed the first, under the title: I came not to abolish but to accomplish (Kigali, 1995).
After more than 10 years of teaching at the university of Kinshasa, where, among other Courses I was teaching the one on African traditional Religion to students coming from several countries of sub-Saharan Africa. While exchanging with them, I realized that this zone of Africa had only one traditional religion despite regional language differences. I, therefore, felt the need to write this last book to notify this discovery. At that moment, speaking of the religion of our zone it was said that, in religious matters, we have “religious traditions” or that our religion was Animism. Shortly after multiple exchanges and conferences, we learned the practice of speaking, even in Rome, of the African traditional Religion, in singular.

As it can be seen, these works convey the same thought as that found in the two books of Bishop Bigirumwami: Imana y'abantu Imana-mu bantu = the Creator and Redeemer. What is discussed in these books is theology, creation and redemption. In other words, this is the link between the natural religion and Christianity that have the same founder namely the Word of God who became man. This is the catechetical method advocated by Bishop Bigirumwami. This method is now called inculturation of theology or deep cultural evangelism. If such a method was followed in the evangelization of our people, racial division instilled in Rwanda would probably have been denied. Let us quote the passage in which Bishop Bigirumwami defines man.

- "All men, from all sources, carry with them the heart and mind of God.
- All men, whether they like it or not, they find in their souls and bodies, God who created them out of nothing and made them exist.
- They found themselves in life given to them by the Creator. "
   Let us make a little comparison with the parallel text of the Catechism that the Missionaries have taught us:
"- Man, what is it? The man is the soul and body.
 - The soul is what? The soul is a living thing, which looks only like the intelligence. It is invisible, it is elusive, it does not die because it has no body. It can think, understand, be free to love and act. "

These two quotations illustrate the difference between an inculturated catechesis rooted in the cultural experience of a people and a theoretical and conceptual catechesis. The first produces a change of heart while the second is limited to a sociological indoctrination. If we had understood the words of our venerable bishop, that "all men without exception, are created in the image of God" (Abantu bose, baremwemwo umutima n'ubwenge biva ku Mana), we would not have listened to aberrations that we know: "They (Tutsis) are evil by nature ... they are snakes ...".


Chap. V:  APPOINTMENT OF BISHOPS

AND THE ETHNIC PROBLEM

Upon his appointment, Bishop Bigirumwami encountered the most dangerous problem for the country. At that time, this problem was not yet very acute to everyone. When he was appointed bishop, a Vicar General had been prepared for him: Father Joseph Sibomana. In the political calculation of this time, a Tutsi bishop was to have for Vicar General a Hutu priest. Seeing this, Bishop Bigirumwami told Father Sibomana: a Vicar General of a Bishop is like his wife. The choice of this one, you know it, depends mainly on her future husband. I do not want that they make you play the role of a servant or a political opponent. I will undertake to find you a better promotion. This is to request you to understand that I must look for a Vicar of my choice. Thus his choice fell on Father Louis Gasore. As for Joseph Sibomana, Bishop Bigirumwami kept his promise. After the death of the first bishop appointed in Ruhengeri, Bishop Bernard Manyurane, Joseph Sibomana was appointed in his place. A few years later, when this bishop encountered insurmountable problems in his Diocese, Bishop Bigirumwami received him in his Diocese, made him get a medical treatment and helped him find a new Diocese: that of Kibungo. Bishop Bigirumwami was magnanimous by allowing him to choose among the priests of his Diocese those who would constitute the basis for the government of this new Diocese. It is thus, for example, that Bishop Chrysologue Kayihura, Rector of the junior seminary of Nyundo, became the first Vicar General of Bishop Sibomana in Kibungo.

The persecution of Nyundo Diocese
Among the Government’s persecutions against Nyundo Diocese, let us first of all mention the nationalization of its junior seminary. In 1973 when the movement which prepared the coup against Kayibanda emptied the secondary schools of the Tutsi, Colonel Alexis Kanyaregwe was appointed Rector of the junior seminary of Nyundo. He was immediately given the responsibility to normalize the situation, that is to say, to drive out of school the undesirable Tutsis. Second on this black list, let us point out the escape of its Senior Seminary to Bujumbura in Burundi. This was done in the context of chasing the Tutsi students out of all educational institutions across the country.
In this period, there was a lot of violence. After serious threats and physical violence, all the students and lecturers of the Senior Seminary, including priests, had to take refuge first of all in Congo, then in Burundi. The Refugee students were mingled with others in Burundi and thus completed their training before being ordained priests. It is later that all these Rwandan priests ended up returning to Rwanda. Thirdly, let us talk about the end of the resistance of Bishop Bigirumwami.
Tired of these political attacks aimed principally at his person, Bishop Bigirumwami, took the decision to resign in Rome while his 75 years episcopal term in office was not finished. However, he wished to be replaced by someone he had trained in his junior Seminary. This is how Bishop Vincent Nsengiyumva became the second Bishop of Nyundo Diocese. Let us finish this list by mentioning the most serious misdeed against this Diocese. During the genocide that killed over a hundred clergy, the Diocese of Nyundo counts alone, 30 out of 103 diocesan priests officially appointed, i.e. 30%. On this list of martyrs, there is Monsignor Louis Gasore, Vicar General of the Diocese, who was killed while he administered the sacrament of Confirmation to the Christians of Muhororo Parish.