Visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda will on Thursday, February 8, pay a visit to the holy land of Kibeho, also known as Rwanda’s pilgrimage site, as part of their three-day state visit in the country.
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Located in Nyaruguru District, Southern Province, Kibeho was declared a holy land after the apparitions of St Mary who visited three young Rwandan ladies on November 28, 1981, and the months that followed.
President Duda’s visit to the site will mark the first-ever visit by a Head of State, making it "a huge milestone for the Catholic Church of Rwanda and a great honor” according to Father Francois Harelimana of the Gikongoro Diocese in the Southern Province.
While in Kibeho, Harelimana told The New Times that President Duda and his Wife Kornhauser Duda will also pay a visit to the Kibeho Sanctuary, dedicated to the virgin mother of sorrow.
"We are ready to welcome our guests to the sanctuary-our lady of Kibeho. It is a great honor for us to be able to welcome him.”
Harelimana added; "Kibeho is a holy land and one that is very relaxed, we like to compare it with the manger where the Lord was born.”
According to a media notice shared by the President’s office on Wednesday, President Duda is also expected to tour the School and Education Centre for Visually Impaired Children in Kibeho, an institute where the blind and visually impaired children in Rwanda have a chance for education, thanks in large part to the Polish funds, under the development cooperation.
Established in 2009, the institute is run by the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross from Laski near Poland’s capital, Warsaw, and it was founded by Mother Elżbieta Róża Czacka (a blind Sister) in 1918.
With over 190 students, the school runs a 6-year Primary School, a 3-year Junior High School, and from September 2023, a 3-year Secondary School was introduced.
A total of six 6 Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross and about 80 employees are also part of the school’s administration.
In December 2023, the institute announced that it had gained a new, safe space for children and teenagers with visual impairments, intended for games and sports, citing that such access to a multi-functional sports ground will help eliminate various barriers that the children face in their everyday lives.
The school follows a normal curriculum, however, the latter has been adapted to the needs of people with poor eyesight or blindness.