Fraternal Visit to the Custody of Our Lady of Kibeho

From July 21 to 25, 2025, the General Animator for Missions, Br. Dennis Tupas Tayo, OFM, conducted a fraternal visitation to the Autonomous Custody of Our Lady of Kibeho, which encompasses the Franciscan fraternities in Burundi and Rwanda. The visit took place shortly after the Custody marked its first year anniversary of autonomy on July 1, 2025. It served as an occasion to strengthen bonds of fraternity, promote missionary openness - especially in light of exploring a new OFM presence in Nigeria - and offer encouragement to the friars as they take their initial steps as a new Custody.

Burundi and Rwanda are historically marked by deep wounds of tribal violence and political unrest. Against this backdrop, the Custody of Our Lady of Kibeho was born amid communities still marked by historical trauma, distrust, and biases between two nations that have carried the wounds of ethnic division, conflict, and political instabilities. This new Entity therefore holds a unique and prophetic place within the Order,  with our Franciscan presence, embodying a tangible witness to peace, reconciliation, and healing. But as Burundians and Rwandians, humbly living as loving fraternities, our friars offer a concrete witness to unity and healing. And this makes their mission all the more significant, not only for the local Church but also for the Order at large.

The visitation included fraternal encounters across several communities, with stops in Bujumbura, Magarama, and Kayongozi in Burundi, and Karama, Kivumu, Mbazi, Nyarunyinya, and Kibeho in Rwanda. These visits highlighted both the strengths and challenges faced by the Custody. While much of the friars’ current ministry is rooted in parish life, there is an often-overlooked vibrancy of Franciscan spirituality that shapes their daily witness. As their Custos, Br. Fr. Theoneste Twahirwa, OFM, observes, their commitment and efforts often remain underrecognized within the broader structures of the Order. Yet what emerged clearly during the visitation was their closeness to the people - especially the poor - their simplicity, their dedication to manual work as a path to community self-reliance, and their earnest desire to serve as instruments of reconciliation, speaking volumes in a region still yearning for peace, vis a vis the difficulties faced, as they take their initial strides, as a new Entity. 

A significant challenge the Custody faces is the ongoing task of articulating a clear and distinct identity as a newly autonomous Entity. Having emerged from the Province of St. Francis of Assisi (East Africa), the Custody is now discerning a vision and mission that reflect the socio-political, cultural, pastoral, and spiritual realities specific to present context. As they prepare for their first Custodial Chapter in 2026, the friars share a deep commitment to defining common values, strategies, and priorities that respond authentically to their realities, including the challenges of economic sustainability and formation needs.

Amid these efforts, the Custody of Our Lady of Kibeho stands as a living sign of Franciscan renewal - a light of hope in a land long wounded by division. The fraternal visitation confirmed the Custody’s rich potential to contribute meaningfully to the Order’s missionary presence, especially as the friars open themselves to intercultural collaboration and broader missionary initiatives. They are blessed with a promising number of religious vocations, a gift to be nurtured with vision and care.

This fraternal encounter was a moment of gratitude, discernment, and encouragement. Above all, it stands as a testimony to the enduring relevance of the Franciscan charism - a presence that listens, reconciles, and walks with the people. In these lands once fractured by division, the friars of the Custody are sowing seeds of hope, cultivating a future marked by unity, healing, and shared peace.

By: Dennis Tupas Tayo, OFM