On November 7, 2025, Rwandan scholar Prof. Jean-Paul Niyigena, a member of the Pope’s Advisory Council for Catholic Education, officially presented his new book to Pope Léon XIV at the Vatican. The book, titled “Rwanda: La mission hier et aujourd’hui” (“Rwanda: The Mission of Yesterday and Today”), was edited and published by the Belgian Catholic publishing house Lumen Vitae.
The 280-page book is a rich collection of research, testimony, and historical reflection on the journey of the Catholic Church in Rwanda—from the arrival of the first missionaries to the Church’s role in national healing, reconciliation, and development.
Speaking in an interview with Kinyamateka, Prof. Niyigena explained that the book is both a historical reflection and a forward-looking contribution to the Church’s ongoing mission.
“I wanted to highlight that the mission of the Church is not the work of missionaries alone,” he said. “It is a shared journey with all the faithful. The book shows how the first missionaries responded to the call to bring the Gospel to Rwanda, and how Rwandans themselves embraced it, integrating the message into their own culture and daily life.”
The book documents the challenges early missionaries encountered—dangerous epidemics, long and exhausting travel routes, and the skepticism of communities unfamiliar with Christianity. Yet through persistence, compassion, and sacrifice, the Gospel took root and transformed the lives of those who received it.
Prof. Niyigena also emphasizes the Church’s crucial role in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. In the years that followed, the Church in Rwanda became deeply engaged in healing wounds, rebuilding trust, and promoting unity.
“Today,” he noted, “the Church is called to offer a testimony of love and truth—helping society live in peace, solidarity, and human dignity. Its mission must be grounded in Christ’s love, carried out through concrete action in education, family life, youth ministry, justice, and the protection of life.”
As a member of the Pope’s Education Advisory Council, Prof. Niyigena insists that authentic education remains central to evangelization. He stresses that Catholic schools should continue to be “a light that reveals human dignity and nourishes faith.”
During the ceremony at the Vatican, Pope Léon XIV warmly thanked Prof. Niyigena and other authors who contribute to strengthening the intellectual and pastoral mission of the Church.
“A book like this,” the Pope said, “is proof that the Gospel continues to be written in the story of humanity. Writers such as Niyigena remind us that the Church’s mission grows from faith but becomes visible through acts of love.”
The Pope also praised the book for portraying the Church in Rwanda as courageous in its post-genocide rebuilding efforts. He encouraged that the work be used especially to help young people embrace values of peace, unity, and responsibility.
“Rwanda: La mission hier et aujourd’hui” highlights the Church’s major contributions to the country’s development—including the creation of schools, hospitals, and social institutions, as well as its partnership in justice, reconciliation, and nation-building after 1994.
Drawing on the reflections of the late Bishop Aloys Bigirumwami, Prof. Niyigena reiterates that the Gospel must always be harmonized with Rwandan culture—forming a Church that speaks not only in words, but through the lived experience of its people.
The book, first published on August 17, 2018, remains available in Christian bookstores and on the official Lumen Vitae platform.
Concluding his interview with Kinyamateka, Prof. Niyigena delivered one final message:
“The mission of the Church must continually be renewed, yet remain anchored in its foundation: love of God and love of humanity. My book is an invitation to meditate on this journey, so that we may all share in the responsibility of making the world a place where God’s love becomes visible.”
