{"id":2000110531,"date":"2026-04-30T10:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000110531"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T08:17:47","slug":"catholic-church-investigates-group-claiming-to-have-elected-a-pope-in-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/catholic-church-investigates-group-claiming-to-have-elected-a-pope-in-rwanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Church investigates group claiming to have elected a \u201cPope\u201d in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Archbishop of Kigali and President of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda, Antoine Cardinal Kambanda, confirmed that the Church is examining the matter following widespread reactions online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports and videos circulating on social media show a group of people gathered, announcing the installation of a leader they refer to as both \u201cPope\u201d and \u201cParent of the Chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The individual presented as this leader is Faustin Harerimana, who was symbolically handed a staff, a cross, and a Bible, described as the word of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harerimana stated that every baptized Catholic is \u201cchosen,\u201d suggesting that his movement is rooted in that belief. He also claimed to have received a mission, though he acknowledged that some leaders within the Catholic Church in Rwanda do not recognize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome Church leaders appear to oppose us, though not all,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is actually their mission. They should be asking what kind of garment they have given Christians, and whether the wedding feast of the Lamb is being prepared here in Rwanda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that his group prays for Catholics to understand and follow what they call the message of \u201cthe Chosen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are not struggling in vain,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are a prepared people, ready to unite with Christ in a kingdom of love, justice, and peace. At this moment, we pray for our brothers and sisters who do not yet understand us, so they do not set us against the Church. We are not against the Church; in fact, we believe we belong to it fully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harerimana further argued that if all Christians embraced the identity of \u201cthe Chosen,\u201d the country would experience greater peace, insisting that such a calling promotes love expressed through actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to the development, Cardinal Kambanda told IGIHE that the Church is actively investigating the situation to clarify what has happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are looking into it to determine what should be done and to clear any confusion,\u201d he said in a brief statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Catholic clergy have also weighed in. Father Theophile Niyonsenga, currently serving in Spain, noted that while he is unfamiliar with the group, the Church must carefully examine the origins and motivations behind such movements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cautioned that if the claims are based on alleged apparitions, the Church cannot rely on such grounds and warned that it could amount to serious doctrinal error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Dominique Mundere, a student in Rome, expressed concern over why the group continues to associate itself with the Catholic Church despite its controversial claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports indicate that members of the self-proclaimed \u201cChosen\u201d group are both within Rwanda and abroad, spread across different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This development comes at a time when the Catholic Church in Rwanda recently marked 125 years since its establishment in the country. The Church currently comprises 236 parishes across nine dioceses, with over five million faithful, 1,160 priests and 3,884 nuns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The group, known as \u201cthe Chosen,\u201d claims to have installed their own Pope.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The Archbishop of Kigali and President of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda, Antoine Cardinal Kambanda, confirmed that the Church is examining the matter following widespread reactions online.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Harerimana says he is not against the Catholic Church. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Catholic Church in Rwanda has launched an investigation into a group of individuals who claim to have appointed their own \u201cPope\u201d within the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000110533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[160],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000110531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-theophile-niyitegeka"],"bylines":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":3}],"contributors":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":3}],"featured_image":{"id":2000110533,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","alt":"","caption":"The Archbishop of Kigali and President of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda, Antoine Cardinal Kambanda, confirmed that the Church is examining the matter following widespread reactions online. \n","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ggjmqy-woaa-ryt-2-6461a.jpg","width":1000,"height":667}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000110531"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000110536,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000110531\/revisions\/2000110536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000110533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000110531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000110531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000110531"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000110531"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000110531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}