KIGALI, 8 January 2021 – A renowned Catholic priest, Ubald Rugirangoga, died Friday morning in Utah State, USA, from respiratory complications brought about by the new coronavirus.
He was aged 65.
Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga preached the healing power of forgiveness and love – Photo KT Press
Rev. Fr. Ubald Rugirangoga, who survived the 1994 Genocide Rwanda and said he was allowed to live in order to become an instrument of healing, had been hospitalized in Utah since last October.
Mgr. Celestin Hakizimana, the Bishop of Gikongoro Diocese and Apostolic Administrator of Cyangugu Diocese, where Rev. Fr. Rugirangoga served, did not link the cause of death to COVID-19.
The Rivers of Fellow Human Beings Fled the Rwanda Genocide on Foot – Photo ABC News
While explain that the priest had recovered from COVID-19, Bishop Hakizimana also said that he was still suffering from the side effects of the virus, mainly lung complications.
The Kigali-based The New Times newspaper said of Rev. Fr. Rugirangoga that he led “led prayers and seminars, urging Genocide perpetrators to seek foregiveness and survivors to forgive their tormentors as part of the healing process from the wound of the 1994 (Rwanda) Genocide”.
