KIGALI, JANUARY 29, 2019 (CISA) – Archbishop Antoine Kambanda was on January 27 2019, installed as the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali in an event held at Amahoro National Stadium.
Archbishop Kambanda becomes the third archbishop of Kigali taking over from Archbishop Emeritus Thadée Ntihinyurwa who retired in 2018.
In his remarks, Kambanda promised full collaboration with the people and government of Rwanda to develop the country.
“I will work for the people of Rwanda to love and serve their country so that we leave a good legacy for the young generation and this will be by putting the goal of Jesus of giving life, and life to the fullest,” Archbishop Kambanda pledged.
He also thanked President Paul Kagame for his leadership and intent to build the relationship between Rwanda and the Vatican in his visit in 2017 in Rome.
He further promised to focus on developing family life and grooming youth as the basis for nation building, and to spread the gospel so that it enables children to know God and Christian values at a time when the society is destroyed by foreign cultures.
His predecessor, Bishop Ntihinyurwa also said that as he goes into retirement, he has “lived a full Christian life and served the church with commitment,” which he would like to see passed on to the community of Christians.
He thanked the community and God who helped him diligently in all ways and asked them to remain steadfast.
President Kagame in his speech lauded the effort of the Catholic Church in developing the nation and its people.
“We recognise the value of the Catholic Church’s partnership with Rwandans, particularly in the provision of education and health services to our population, regardless of their religious affiliation….This is not ordinary especially if we see what happens elsewhere. The steps we have taken should make other religions also learn from this so as to develop and grow stronger,” said Kagame.
