By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald
Rwanda genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza will be the guest speaker at next month’s Red Mass, 9 a.m., Jan. 17, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace.
The Red Mass, which is celebrated in Hawaii in January the same week as the opening of the state legislature, is the church’s public prayer to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance for the state’s civic leaders. Bishop Larry Silva will preside.
Ilibagiza had been an engineering student at the National University of Rwanda when her life was dramatically transformed at age 22 by the 1994 Rwanda genocide. She and seven women hid for 91 days in a cramped bathroom of a local pastor’s house, miraculously eluding machete-wielding gangs that called out for her as they searched the premises. They ultimately killed most of her family.
More that 800,000 people were murdered by the genocidal wave that slashed through her country. As a survivor, Ilibagiza, a Catholic, developed a profound relationship with God and embraced forgiveness over revenge.
She eventually moved to New York, worked for the United Nations, and established the Left to Tell Charitable Fund to help others heal from the effects of genocide and war. Her book “Left to Tell” has sold more than 250,000 copies.
Ilibagiza, 37, has spoken to audiences around the world and has told her story on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” She visited Hawaii last February, speaking at a number of churches and schools. The recipient of numerous humanitarian awards, she lives in New York City with her husband and their two children.
The Red Mass is a 700-year-old tradition in Europe that was introduced in the United States in the early 1900s and has become an annual event in Washington, D.C., and other major mainland cities. Hawaii has had a Red Mass since 1955.
The Mass is named for the color of the vestments used for a Mass of the Holy Spirit.
Ilibagiza will also speak at 7 p.m., Jan. 13, at St. Anthony Church in Wailuku, Maui, and at the Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 and 15. The events are free, but a free will offering will be taken up.
For more information, call 203-6733.