Marian African Pilgrimage & Safari

Today you will arrive in Africa! You will be greeted by your guide and taken to our hotel: Zalia Court Kigali; A Curio collection Hotel by Hilton. You will have time to freshen up before our Mass and group dinner. Welcome to Rwanda – the Land of 1000 hills!

After breakfast, we will travel to Our Lady of Kibeho, the site of the approved apparitions of the Blessed Mother. The first apparition was on November 28, 1981, and the last was on November 28, 1989. The apparitions involved three main seers: Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka, and Marie Claire Mukangango. The Virgin Mary appeared under the name “Nyina wa Jambo”, which means “Mother of the Word”. She asked for prayer, penance, fasting, and the recitation of the Rosary. She also shared a message of redemptive suffering and unceasing prayer for the world.The Virgin Mary foreshadowed the Rwandan genocide, which occurred 13 years later. We will have a bit of time with the brothers of the Missionaries of Peace who reside here, and hear about their efforts of peace building in the area. We will have Mass here and a group lunch will be included. After an unbelievably spiritual day we will drive back to Kigali for a group dinner and overnight.

Today after breakfast we will attend Mass at a vibrant parish in Kigali! Regina Pacis Catholic Church. The music will be totally unique. We can’t wait for you to experience the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in Africa. At Mass you will feel the local culture through their music as well as interaction with the local Catholics who are some of the most welcoming in the world. We will then spend the rest of the morning in Kigali visiting the Genocide Memorial, the local craft market and a center for women. The Memorial is a place of remembrance, for more than one million victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, and where 250,000 victims are laid to rest. We will make a visit to the Cathedral in Kigali. We will also stop at a wonderful craft market where you can purchase some wonderful handmade items to take home. We will have a group lunch before transferring back to our hotel so you can relax at the pool or elsewhere. This evening we will have a fascinating group dinner at Hotel des Mille Collines (“Hotel Rwanda”). If you have not yet watched this movie, please be sure to do so, so that you understand the significance of this location.

After a very early breakfast we will set out to the Akagera national park for our safari! Widely considered to be one of the most scenic parks in central-eastern Africa, Akagera’s extraordinary biodiversity ranges from impressive herds of herbivores that graze the open plains to rare and elusive birds that frequent the swamps. Since 2010, when African Parks was invited to manage the park, wildlife numbers have rebounded dramatically. Here you will find lions & rhinos as well as thriving populations of elephant, buffalo, zebra, giraffe and leopards. The waterways teem with hippo and enormous crocodiles. Akagera is home to an impressive array of wildlife. Akagera remains a relatively undiscovered gem. Today we will enjoy excellent wildlife sightings without the huge crowds you find in other areas of Africa. Lunch will be included today. At the end of an exhilarating day we will head back to Kigali for dinner and overnight.

Today is a day for rest & relaxation. You can lay by the pool or explore on your own. If you would like help setting up a gorilla trekking excursion, please let us know. Lunch will be on your own today. This evening we will enjoy an amazing group dinner at a restaurant called Heaven in Kigali. Heaven is a local restaurant that employs genocide survivors and their families. Overnight Kigali.

After breakfast you will be taken back to the airport for your flight back to the United States.