Pictures show Umulisa in Rome when she met Pope Francis on October 17 this year. Umulisa handed the Pope a basket in blue, green and yellow colors making the official Rwandan flag.
At 10:00 am, on October 17, Umulisa a Catholic Church member of Magi Parish met Pope Francis on the invitation she had been offered by “Frauen-missionswerk’’, a German non-profit organization that helps vulnerable women.
In exclusive interview with IGIHE, Laetitia Umulisa, the Founder of Itetero, a non-profit organization that helps rural poor women particularly in Gisagara District, says after she heard news that she would meet the Pope, she felt as if she was in night vision and spent a long time thinking about the gift she would give to the Pope.
“I thought in my heart that as a Rwandan woman, I had to dress a Rwandan traditional style (imikenyero) and take him [Pope] something showing our country’s image. I took the basket with colors of the Rwandan flag and inside it, I put a letter on which were written three things I wished the Pope would pray for Rwanda and Rwandans,” she recounts.
Umulisa asked Pope Francis to pray for Rwanda to keep as a peaceful, coherent and developed country. The second wish was to pray for the Rwandan woman to be characterized with love, commitment and hard work and also to be a woman with values to help her build her family and nation.
The last wish Umulisa presented to the Pope is to do advocacy for the private Organization ‘Itetero’ she founded to help vulnerable women living in rural areas.
During her visit at the Vatican, Umulisa was with three other Germans who each were also given 10 minutes to talk to the Pope.
“When the Pope turned up to me, I told him that I am Rwandan as I explained to him that the colors on the basket I gave him make the Rwandan flag, which pleased him so much. I asked him ‘Do you remember that Kibeho, where the Holy Mary appeared, is located in Rwanda?’ ‘I know that,’ replied the Pope. “I wish you would visit Rwanda,” Umulisa narrates.
On visiting Rwanda, Umulisa says that the Pope answered, “I do think on that, dear daughter.” The Pope handed Umulisa a rosary bead and counseled her to always ask Holy Mary to intercede for her.
Umulisa says that she left the Vatican with full joy because she hopes that in the near or later future, the Pope will visit Rwanda.
Another thing is that the Pope assured her to do advocacy for her organization, Itetero, to get the support that will enable it to achieve its goal to help the poor.
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