Rwanda’s Cardinal Says Eucharist Key to Unity, Reconciliation amid History of Genocide

The Cardinal further recognized the Eucharist as “the core of the heritage of love that Christ gave us. This love is proved by the way Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross.”

The May 27-30 Eucharistic Congress is being held under the theme: “The Eucharistic is the source of Unity, Reconciliation and love.”

It comes at a time when Rwanda is commemorating the 27th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide.

In the May 27 news report, the Archbishop of Rwanda’s Kigali Archdiocese is quoted as saying, “The congress manifests the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the Church because the Church lives by the Eucharist; it is the Eucharist that gives the Church life.”

Cardinal Kambanda who has been at the helm of Kigali Archdiocese since November 2018 further says, “Christ died for us so that we can overcome hatred, divisionism so we become one family, one body and brotherly love.”

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The Congress, he says, “is already being celebrated in Parishes with adorations; where Christians pray in front of the Eucharist, do processions where possible with respect to social distancing and other COVID-19 prevention guidelines.”

Celebrated every four years, the Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of Clergy, Religious, and Laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. 

The 52nd Eucharistic Congress that had been scheduled to take place in September 2020 in Budapest, Hungary was postponed to September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.