Bishop Harolimana criticizes diocese for not training priests

Bishop Harolimana told the priests and Christians of these dioceses: “There is no definition of barrenness in our dioceses”.

This he announced in Janja diocese, when seven priests of the diocese of Ruhengeri, which celebrates its 25th anniversary of ordination, have received the sacrament of ordination, two deacons have been ordained and seven religious have received the diaconate.

Bishop Harolimana expressed gratitude to some dioceses that continue to train a large number of priests, among which Janja Diocese is the diocese that has trained the most priests in the past 25 years.

He said: “Since Janja had its first priest in 1982, this parish called Barren has not ceased to provide us with many excellent priests”.

“For the first time in the history of the diocese we have such a number of priests and we thank God that two of them are priests, one of the seven who received the diaconate was born in the diocese of Yanja, and three of the seven priests who celebrated their 25th anniversary of ordination were born in the diocese of Yanja,” the bishop said of the increase in the number of priests in the diocese of Ruhengeri this year.

Bishop Harolimana returned to the image of the 16 parishes that make up the diocese of Ruhengeri, calling for the dedication of the priesthood to the Catholic clergy, criticizing some parishes for not training priests and not having people ready to become priests. He called the priests (godfathers) barren.

Muzo, who owns an orchard that includes the dioceses of Busengo and Murama, said: “I ask the priests of the dioceses of Busengo and Murama to stand up and continue to talk face to face, there is not a single religious in these two dioceses”.

He added: “I was told that this is new but there is a Butete diocese which is also new but it has more religious than Rwaza so far, the new definition does not hold, there are dioceses that have only one religious, those are the dioceses of Kigugu, Nemba, Bumara and Canaba”.

He continued: “My goal on the day of the Jubilee of Ordination is to send them to those parishes that clap their hands, barrenness means nothing, in the 150-year Jubilee, I want good gifts from those parishes that will increase in other parishes that have excelled in their calling».

Bishop Harolimana returned to the duties of a priest, saying that a priest is a useful person who teaches, sanctifies, guides, and he also said that a priest unites people with God and with each other, striving for the all-round development of the person, both spiritually and physically.

He also said that St. John Mary Vianney (the patron saint of priests) shows us that the priest is a person who has the key to obtain good things from God.

“Saint John Maria Vianney said that a world without priests is like an iron box full of gold, shut tight but without a key.”

He continued: “So think about our situation, there is no priest, who will present us as children of God in baptism, no one. Who is willing to offer us the sacrifice of the Mass to thank God and receive the body of the Son of God, no one. Who can save us from our sins in the name of God and the Church, no one”.

He added: “Who will come to save us and support us when we are sick or retired? No one. Who will accompany us until we wake up and help us enter the gates of heaven? No one. Therefore, no one can replace the mission of the priest except the priest himself.”

Rwanda: Increase in number of priests around the Church

This year, the Rwandan Church is preparing to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the arrival of the Gospel in Rwanda.

The growth of the Church and the Catholic population has gone hand in hand with the growing number of parishes throughout the diocese.

The diocese of Ruhengeri is one of the most prestigious dioceses in Rwanda, with many Christians who have dedicated themselves to God. Currently, the diocese has seen a significant increase in the number of priests, and this year is the year that the diocese is hunting for others to train more priests (10).

In terms of the number of Christians and dioceses, Kabugai, which was established for the first time in the country, tops the list with 31 dioceses, while the diocese of Rugenjeri is third, after Kabugai and Nyundo, with 16 dioceses.

Who is asked when a parish does not produce monks?

Kigali Today spoke to a religious from the Ruhengeri diocese who attended the priest ordination ceremony in Yanja last week and asked him who he should question about the fact that the diocese does not produce priests, saying those who should be questioned first are the priests of the diocese.

He said that parish priests should give the image and true meaning of devotion to God, especially in action and teaching, so that people will love God and those who desire to dedicate themselves to God and strive to become people like you.

He also said that others who should be questioned are parents (Christians) who are among those who hold the key to help their children in their calling to give themselves to God and avoid discouraging them as is often seen in some parents who discourage their children from giving themselves to God for the benefit of worldly wealth.

Parents who spoke to Kigali Today said they understand the importance of priests and they feel it is a matter of pride for them to have one, but they criticised some Christians in the diocese for not producing priests over the years or preparing to become them, accusing them of negligence and the decline of Christianity.

Some houses gave birth to more than one monk.

Most of the families in the parish produced more than one priest or deity.

One example is the family of Marondo André and Mukarubbi Verediyana from Nyange diocese in Nyundo diocese, who have five sons, three of whom are priests.

The three priests come from the same womb, the elder is Father Gilbert Ntilandekula, followed by Father Leandre Nshimiaremi and the youngest is Father Revokat Habiaremi, who received the sacrament of ordination on August 21, 2021 in the Catholic Diocese of Bimba.

and the family of Mutanoga Jean Berchmas and Sinaobye Anne Marie from Mukalanchi Parish in Kayonza District, who gave birth to two priests.

The priests are Ndazigaruye Annicet, who has been a monk for 16 years, his younger brother Iraguha Daniel, who has been a monk for seven years, and his sister, who was once a nun.

In the diocese of Gikongoro, although three nuns and a priest were born from the same womb, Sister Faina Kabush, who was born in the house, said the call to consecrate themselves to God was for four people who were helped by their parents.

“Our faith is rooted in the faith of our parents,” he said. “My parents had a strong, deep-rooted faith, and it was clear that strong prayer and Bible reading was a tradition, they valued the broken spirit, they traveled long distances to pray, they loved to host the hungry, and they never stopped us from calling.”

In the parish of Janja, a priest and a nun were born into a family.

The children’s mother, Nyiragashyashya, said she felt very proud to see her two children devoting themselves to God.

“Being married to a priest and a nun makes me feel always in God, always happy, because I have blessings from God, so I am old and young at the same time,” she said.

In the diocese of Kibbutz Gobare, a bishop and a priest were born in one family.

Although the bishop criticized some dioceses for not training priests, he was happy that they had obtained more priests this year.

He said: “There are seven new deacons and many brothers. This year we have added ten priests. At the same time, we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of these seven priests as priests. This is a happy miracle.”

He added: “It also shows that the diocese of Rugangeri is vibrant, alive and has a bright future, the elders see that their elders are celebrating 25 years of priesthood with joy and without complaints, and they also see the path that is being followed.”