Pineridge Blog

Immaculee Ilibagiza

Twenty-five years ago, the small but densely populated African country of Rwanda experienced a gruesome civil war as members of the Hutu tribe took up arms against the smaller Tutsi tribe. In only 100 days, they slaughtered over 800,000 Tutsis using spears, clubs and machetes. It was genocide and few Tutsis survived. 

Immaculee Ilibagiza was one of the few.  She escaped by hiding in a cramped bathroom with seven other women for 91 days in the home of a Protestant pastor. The extreme physical trial was also marked by extreme interior struggle as she dealt with terror, anger and resentment. After she emerged, Immaculee learned that her parents and two of her three brothers were all killed. What sustained was her Christian faith and a strong prayer life. She tells of the whole ordeal and the years of her struggle to forgive in her excellent book, Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. 

Today Immaculee is a world renowned author and speaker on peace, faith, hope and forgiveness and she is coming to St. Therese Catholic Church on Thursday, March 14 at 7:00 PM.  Tickets are available online at: www.stttheresenorth.org. Once on the home page then click: Immaculee Ilibagiza purchase tickets. The cost is $10.00 in advance or $15.00 at the door. All high school students with ID enter for free as do all 7th and 8th grade students with an ID or school uniform. This talk is not recommended for younger children. 

Lent begins March 6th on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time to forgive others, ourselves and even God. Real forgiveness is hard, but it is also an experience of Easter, overcoming pain and death and embracing new life. It is always good to hear someone like Imaculee who is doing this difficult work in order to let go and pass through to resurrection.