Imaculee Ilibagiza: Forgiveness in Rwanda

On August 15, 1981, the Feast of the Assumption, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three high school and college students in Kibeho, Rwanda with a message: repent and turn to God in prayer. Pray the rosary. Destruction is coming, and if the whole world turns to God, it can be stopped.

The apparitions continued for eight years, and then in 1994, the inconceivable happened--the majority tribe of Hutus began to murder entire families of the upper class Tutsi tribe. These murders quickly turned into widespread, hand-executed genocide that killed over a million people in a span of three months.

Immaculee Ilibagiza was home from university for Easter break when the genocide began, and 15 years later, she is telling the story of her survival that she credits to the grace of God. I had the opportunity to see Immaculee speak this past Tuesday at Assumption Parish in Atco, NJ. She was a dynamic speaker with a powerful and (believe it or not) almost comedic testimony that I'd like to relay for you. Unfortunately, I was unable to take photos or audio at the event; you can find both at the two links above.)


On the morning of the murder of Rwanda's president, Imaculee's father handed his daughter a set of rosary beads with the instruction to run to a family friend, a Protestant (Hutu) pastor. There was no time to say goodbye.

The pastor hid Imaculee along with seven other women in his 3-by-4 foot bathroom, where they remained for three months unable to speak, move, or eat more than some beans each day. The first week was maddening as Immaculee struggled with feelings of anger, revenge, and impatience. She even thought of leaving the house and allowing herself to be shot by Hutus; it would be easier than being found and hacked to death by machete, Immaculee thought. "These were people who had told us to be good, to love each other," she told us. "I thought, 'Have they lost their minds?'"

Having nothing else to do, she turned to her rosary and a Bible given to her by the pastor. With the Bible and a French-English dictionary, Immaculee taught herself English while praying up to 27 rosaries a day. If she ceased praying even for a minute, her belief in God would falter, so she kept on all day. Each section of the prayer begins with the Our Father, and one of the lines includes: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Ilibagiza struggled with this line intensely, as it called her to forgive the very people she hated most. Not wanting to lie to God, she did the only thing she could think of: "I said to Our Lord, 'I'm going to skip that part.'"

One afternoon, a group of 300 Hutu warriors stormed the little home where Imaculee and the others were hiding. Her faith shaken and convinced this was the end, Immaculee bargained with God, saying that if they were spared today, she would never doubt Him again. She was told after her release that one warrior had stood with his hand on the bathroom door, only to change his mind. The pastor was Hutu, "one of them," and a minister. He was trustworthy. Floored by God's providence, she has held to her promise since then.

After three months, French troops offered asylum to the persecuted Tutsis, and at 3 a.m., Immaculee and those with her fled to the camp. The Tutsis would eventually overthrow the Hutus and restore balance and peace to Rwanda, though its people have never forgotten the horror. Immaculee lost her parents, grandparents, siblings and almost all cousins in the genocide. She would be approached sometime later by a Hutu family friend who had spent years in prison after the murder of two of Imaculee's second cousins, asking for forgiveness. Relaying the experience, Immaculee said that because Jesus forgave killers, she too was called to forgive.

It was a decision that led her to be labeled a traitor by other Tutsis, but it also opened Immaculee to the opportunity to share her story worldwide. It took only three weeks to write her first book Left to Tell, and became a New York Times bestseller after its release.

Faith gives us the strength to overcome any obstacle, and Immaculee's incredible testimony proves that even life or death situations can be easier to handle with God's help.

You can check out a 60 Minutes feature with Immaculee Ilibagiza here at CBS News.