Grégoire Kayibanda was a Rwandan politician and revolutionary who was the first elected President of Rwanda from 1962 to 1973. An ethnic Hutu, he was a pioneer of the Rwandan Revolution and led Rwanda's struggle for independence from Belgium, replacing the Tutsi monarchy with a republican form of government. Rwanda became independent from Belgium in 1962, with Kayibanda serving as the country's first president, establishing a pro-Hutu policy and a de facto one-party system governed by his party, Parmehutu. He was overthrown in a coup d'état in 1973 by his defense minister, Juvénal Habyarimana, and died three years later.
Paul Joseph Jean Poupard is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a Cardinal since 1985. He held positions in the Roman Curia for more than 25 years, serving as President of the Pontifical Council for Culture from 1988 to 2007 and briefly as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert was a French Catholic Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal. A member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, his tenure as archbishop saw the establishment of the Institut Catholique de Paris and the construction of Sacré-Cœur on Montmartre.
Joseph (Giuse) Nguyễn Chí Linh is a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a bishop since 2004 and the Archbishop of Huế since 2016.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kabgayi is a diocese located in the city of Kabgayi in the Ecclesiastical province of Kigali in Rwanda.
Antoine Kambanda is a Rwandan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Kigali since January 2019. He had been Bishop of Kibungo from 2013 to 2018.
Kabgayi is just south of Gitarama in Muhanga District, Southern Province, Rwanda, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Kigali. It was established as a Catholic Church mission in 1905. It became the center for the Roman Catholic Church in Rwanda and is the site of the oldest cathedral in the country and of Catholic seminaries, schools and a hospital. The church at first supported the Tutsi ruling elite, but later backed the Hutu majority. During the 1994 Rwandan genocide thousands of Tutsis who had taken refuge here were killed. Some survivors admire the courage of many priests who helped them during those difficult days, like Father Evergiste RUKEBESHA and many others. Later, some Hutus including three bishops and many priests were killed by the rebels RPF soldiers. A mass grave beside the hospital is marked by a memorial. Inside the Basilica are kept the bodies of the three bishops killed by FPR rebels. Two of them were refused by the Rwandan government to be transferred in their own cathedrals.
Smaragde Mbonyintege is a Rwandan prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Kabgayi in Rwanda from 2006 to 2023.
Archbishop André Perraudin, M. Afr. was a Swiss Catholic clergyman who lived in Rwanda for nearly fifty years. He was Archbishop of Kabgayi from 1959 to 1989.
Aloys Bigirumwami was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Nyundo from 1959 to 1973, having previously served as its apostolic vicar.
John Joseph Hirth was a Catholic Bishop in German East Africa, known as the founder of the church in Rwanda.
Laurent-François Déprimoz, M. Afr. was a Catholic priest who was Vicar Apostolic of the Apostolic Vicariate of Ruanda and then of the Apostolic Vicariate of Kabgayi.
Laurent Le Boulc'h is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who has been metropolitan archbishop of Lille since 2023. He was bishop of Coutances from 2013 to 2023.
Joseph Vũ Duy Thống was a Vietnamese prelate, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phan Thiet from July 2009 to his death and the Head of the Episcopal Committee on Cultural Affairs. He was Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City from 2001 to 2009.
Jean-Pierre Delville is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Bishop of Liège since 2013. His earlier career was devoted to church history and teaching, which he always combined with pastoral activity. He has been associated with the Saint Egidio Community since 1978.
Antoine de Romanet de Beaune is a French Roman Catholic prelate. Since 2017 he has served as the bishop of the Diocese of the French Armed Forces.
St Léon Minor Seminary of Kabgayi is a Catholic church minor seminary located in Kabgayi, Southern province of Rwanda. The school is owned by Kabgayi Diocese of Catholic Church of Rwanda. Established in 1913, the seminary is the oldest formal school in Rwanda. The minor seminary of Kabgayi had educated a number of notable people both in the church and the politics. The seminary's alumni include two former Presidents of Republic of Rwanda, several catholic church bishops, two former Presidents of Rwanda's senate, tens of ministers, several members of the parliament and hundreds of Catholic priests.
Edouard Sinayobye is a Rwandan clergyman, author and Catholic Bishop of Cyangugu Diocese.
Michel Guyard was a French Catholic bishop. He served as Bishop of Le Havre from 2003 to 2011.
Michel Santier is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of Luçon from 2001 to 2007 and of bishop of Créteil from 2007 to 2021. Though poor health was the original explanation for his early retirement, he had privately admitted to Vatican officials that he had taken sexual advantage of his clerical status decades earlier by subjecting two young men to voyeurism. The Vatican imposed restrictions on him in retirement.
