{"id":54196,"date":"2025-05-16T09:50:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T09:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/we-expect-him-to-deepen-church-ties-with-rwanda-cardinal-kambanda-on-pope-leo\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T15:50:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T15:50:19","slug":"we-expect-him-to-deepen-church-ties-with-rwanda-cardinal-kambanda-on-pope-leo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/we-expect-him-to-deepen-church-ties-with-rwanda-cardinal-kambanda-on-pope-leo\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We expect him to deepen Church ties with Rwanda’ \u2013 Cardinal Kambanda on Pope Leo XIV"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an interview with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), Cardinal Kambanda\u2014who made history as the first Rwandan Cardinal to vote in a papal conclave\u2014highlighted the significant progress Pope Francis had made in fostering closer ties between the Church and the Rwandan government. <\/p>\n

He expressed confidence that Pope Leo XIV will continue along the same path.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect him to enhance the relationship between the Church and the Government of Rwanda. Pope Francis had made great strides in improving ties, and agreements between the Vatican and the Rwandan government were nearing completion,\u201d said Cardinal Kambanda. \u201cThe journey we are on\u2014particularly in terms of unity, reconciliation, and resilience\u2014is understood and supported by the global Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that these efforts align with the broader mission of promoting peace, development, and social harmony in Rwanda and beyond.<\/p>\n

The election of Pope Leo XIV coincides with the 125th anniversary of the arrival of the Gospel in Rwanda. When asked whether the Pope would be invited to the Jubilee celebrations, Cardinal Kambanda explained that the Pope\u2019s tight schedule may make such a visit unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe year is already halfway through, and the Jubilee coincides with the 2025 global celebration of the Gospel\u2019s spread. It would be difficult for him to fit Rwanda into his schedule, but we will certainly extend an invitation for another time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his own participation in the conclave, Cardinal Kambanda described the election of Pope Leo XIV as a historic moment and a profound blessing. He emphasized the global unity of the Catholic faithful during the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great joy to elect a Pope for the first time. Even more so because he is a person the world truly needs at this moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV is expected to continue the legacy of Pope Francis, who established a uniquely strong relationship with Rwanda during his papacy. <\/p>\n

One of the most significant gestures came in 2017, when Pope Francis publicly asked for forgiveness for the Catholic Church\u2019s role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.<\/p>\n

On May 20, 2017, President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame visited the Vatican and held talks with Pope Francis. The meeting marked a turning point in Rwanda\u2013Vatican relations.<\/p>\n

During the visit, the Pope asked God for forgiveness for the Church\u2019s failings, including the actions of clergy and other Church members who had been complicit in hatred and violence, betraying their missionary responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis expressed deep sorrow\u2014on his behalf, the Holy See, and the Catholic Church\u2014for the horrors of the genocide, and offered solidarity with the victims and survivors. <\/p>\n

On May 8, 2025, American-born Robert Francis Prevost was elected as the new Pope, taking the name Leo XIV. <\/p>\n

He became the 267th pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church, and the first American to hold the position. He secured over 89 out of 133 votes from the Cardinals participating in the conclave.<\/p>\n

\"On<\/figure>\n
\"Pope<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Antoine Cardinal Kambanda has voiced high expectations for Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church, expressing hope that he will build on the efforts of the late Pope Francis to further strengthen the relationship between the Church and the Government of Rwanda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000087206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","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":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000087206,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/cardinal_kambanda_yagaragaje_ko_papa_francis_yari_afite_umutima_wo_gusura_u_rwanda_1_-08ad7.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54196","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\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000087206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54196"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54196"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}