Depart the USA for your overnight flight to Kigali. Dinner, breakfast, and lunch will be served on board. Be sure to take some time to meditate about the life-changing journey upon which you are embarking.

Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be joyfully welcomed by your guides, who will give you a detailed briefing on your tour itinerary, assist you in getting cleared by customs, and exchange some money in local currency before transferring you to your hotel. Dinner and overnight at Hôtel des Mille Collines.

After breakfast, you will spend the morning in Kigali visiting the Genocide Memorial. The Memorial is a place of remembrance for more than one million victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. It is where 250,000 victims are laid to rest. Around mid-day, you will head to St. Famille to visit the Cathedral. We will celebrate Mass there. After Mass, you will enjoy an authentic African lunch. After a full day, you will be transferred back to your hotel for some relaxation in the afternoon. Dinner with wine at your hotel. Overnight at Hôtel des Mille Collines.

After a hearty breakfast, you will depart for Cyangugu. You will be transferred through the Nyungwe National Forest which is a vast area of mountain rainforest and home to many species of chimpanzee and Colossus monkeys. Upon arrival, you will have a late lunch and time for rest, then the Holy Mass at Centre Diocesan de Pastoral where we will be staying for the night. Dinner and overnight at Centre Diocesan de Pastoral Center.

After breakfast,  you will visit the Centre for the Secret of Peace overlooking picturesque Lake Kivu,  where you will explore the beautiful grounds. You may encounter many locals who come daily for prayer. There will be a Mass and time for prayer. Usually, 25,000 or more participants come to Mass and pray for healing, rain, or shine on the 13th of each month. They come from as far away as the Congo and Burundi to encounter the healing presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Even though you will not be there on the 13th you will still experience a beautiful Mass and meet many locals. Dinner and overnight stay at Centre Diocesan de Pastoral.

Today after breakfast we will transfer to Nyaruguru/Kibeho (approx. 2-hour drive). Our Lady of Kibeho is 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. You will have time for prayer and Holy Mass at the Shrine, and if the visionary Natalie is in residence, we will have an opportunity to meet with her. You will have time with the brothers of the Missionaries of Peace who reside here and hear about their efforts of peacebuilding in the area. All meals and overnight stay at Regina Pacis Hotel.

After Mass and breakfast, you will have time to purchase some souvenirs before transferring back to Kigali. You will celebrate your last evening together at the beautiful Heaven Restaurant. This is a local restaurant that employs genocide survivors and their families. Overnight stay at Hôtel des Mille Collines.

On this day, you will conclude your pilgrimage with an early morning Mass, enjoy your breakfast, and then transfer to the Kigali International Airport for your outbound flights back home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of places to be visited. Occasionally local religious holidays, national days, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of visits or the missing of certain visits.