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Sainte-Famille Church
Sainte-Famille Church, Kigali
Sainte-Famille ChurchLocation in Rwanda
1°56′40″S 30°03′49″E / 1.94455°S 30.06352°E / -1.94455; 30.06352
Denomination	Catholic
History
Dedication	Holy Family

Sainte-Famille Church (Holy Family Church) is a Catholic church in Muhima, downtown Kigali, in Rwanda. It is located on a hill, close to the cell of Rugenge. Sainte-Famille Church was the scene of killings during the genocide in April 1994.

Architecture

The building is constructed from red brick, but its facade is embellished with white panels. Besides the parish church, it also includes a visitor centre, a clinic, a primary school, a driving school and buildings leased to individuals by the parish.

History

Constructed when Rwanda was still part of the German colonial empire in 1913, the building is one of the largest churches in the city.

During the Rwandan genocide of 1994 thousands of Tutsi and Hutu took refuge in the church and many were massacred, following the death of President Juvénal Habyarimana. Witnesses have alleged that the priest in charge of the church, Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, who had armed himself, helped Hutu Power militias take people from the church to be killed. Fr. Munyeshyaka allegedly agreed to "let the militia pick off those they wanted every now and then."

Speaking ten years later, Father Antoine Kambanda, director of the local branch of the Caritas charity, acknowledged that some members of the Catholic Church in Rwanda had been involved in the killings, although others had done what they could to prevent them.

References

1. Morel, Jacques (June 2010). La France Au Coeur du Génocide des Tutsi. MOREL Jacques. p. 1417. ISBN 978-2-84405-242-1. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
2. ^ Robert Walker (1 April 2004). "Rwanda's religious reflections". BBC. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
3. The Rotarian. Rotary International. December 2004. p. 45. ISSN 0035-838X. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
4. Rucyahana, John (6 March 2007). The Bishop of Rwanda. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 111. ISBN 978-1-4185-7326-3. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
5. "Sainte Famille Church". Genocide archive Rwanda.org. Retrieved 21 March 2013.

• Buildings and structures in Kigali
• Roman Catholic churches completed in 1913
• 1913 establishments in German East Africa
• 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Rwanda