Rwanda
"Muraho! Yezo akuzwe"
"Welcome! Jesus be Praised!"
Welcome to Rwanda! At this second stop in our pilgrimage we visit one of the few predominately Catholic countries in Africa. In meeting our fellow brothers and sisters from Rwanda, we approach a people with a deep and rich history and cultural tradition, as well as a recent history of violence and genocide. It is here that we have many heroic examples of learning to live with tragic loss and true Christian forgiveness.
WYD Reflection
Each month we will read a reflection given by either Pope John Paul II or Pope Benedict XVI during or about the world youth day ceremonies. The theme for each reflection is tied to the unique experience of the people living in each of the countries on our virtual pilgrimage.
The second thing the prophet [Zechariah] shows us is that this king will be a king of peace: he will cause chariots of war and war horses to vanish, he will break bows and proclaim peace.
This is brought about in Jesus through the sign of the Cross. The Cross is the broken bow, in a certain way, God's new, true rainbow which connects the heavens and the earth and bridges the abysses between the continents. The new weapon that Jesus places in our hands is the Cross — a sign of reconciliation, of forgiveness, a sign of love that is stronger than death.
Every time we make the Sign of the Cross we should remember not to confront injustice with other injustice or violence with other violence; let us remember that we can only overcome evil with good and never by paying evil back with evil.
Pope Benedict XVI, XXI World Youth Day Homily, Sunday, 9 April 2006
The Jubilee Cross
In the year 1984 Pope John Paul II gave to the young people of the world the World Youth Day Cross with the following words: "My dear young people, at the conclusion of the Holy Year, I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee Year: the Cross of Christ! Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity and announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption."
The official World Youth Day Website describes the journeys of that historic cross; Since then, the World Youth Day cross has traveled far and wide — it has been throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, South America and The Philippines, to Poland and Prague, to the German Parliament and even to Ground Zero in New York. It has been carried by commercial airline, light aircraft, dog sled, pick-up truck, tractor, sail boat, fishing boat and on shoulders.Carried from parish churches to youth detention centers, prisons, schools, universities, national historic sites, shopping centers, nightclub districts and parks, it is truly an international symbol for Catholic youth.
This year is the first year the cross traveled to Africa and during its time there passed into Rwanda. The following story from the World Youth Day website is one of the stories that have emerged out of that historic visit.
"It was not by chance that one of the first events was a procession at the genocide memorial in Kiziguru. During the ceremony the youth were asked to remember all those innocent lives lost during that tragic period of human history, and to have the courage to cry out: 'Never again!'. It was a piercing cry, shouted with all the force and directness with which young people are capable, in a community ceremony at the centre of which the Cross of Christ stood as a powerful sign of forgiveness… We can understand the hope expressed by Bishop Philippe Rukamba of Butare when he said that this occasion could prove to be a hotbed of peace and a school of fellowship and love".
As you continue on this virtual pilgrimage keep in mind the pilgrimage of the WYD cross that continues to make its way towards Sydney. May you encounter that cross down under!