Father Balthazar Gafuku's life was filled with extraordinary events. Born in 1885 to Kamurama and Nyirahabimana in the Zaza Mission, now part of the Kibungo Diocese, Gafuku faced significant health challenges as a child.
His parents, believing he had passed away after serious illness, abandoned him in a swamp. He was later discovered and rescued by missionary priests who took him in, providing him with education and guidance that would eventually lead him to the priesthood. This occurred during the reign of King Kigeli IV Rwabugiri.
According to sources, Gafuku received his catechism education in Zaza and, at the age of 18, was baptized in Mibirizi, which was part of Cyangugu at the time.
His journey to the priesthood began in July 1904, when Bishop Joseph Hirth, who had established the Catholic Church in Rwanda, welcomed Gafuku, Donat Reberaho, and other young men, including Joseph Bugondo and Pierre Ndegeya, into the seminary at Hangiro in Bukoba, later relocated to Kyanja-Rubia in Tanzania.
Gafuku and Reberaho completed their studies in the minor seminary from 1904 to 1909. From 1909 to 1910, they pursued philosophy, and from 1910 to 1913, they studied theology. Gafuku was ordained as a deacon on October 8, 1916, alongside Reberaho. A year later, on October 7, 1917, both men were ordained as priests by Bishop Hirth at the Kabgayi Cathedral.
Father Gafuku went on to serve in various capacities throughout his priesthood, including assignments at the Kabgayi Major Seminary and in the Nyundo Diocese. In 1930, he was assigned to serve in Mibilizi, where he had been baptized. He returned to Kabgayi two years later and in 1941 was assigned to Mugombwa, where he celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest.
Father Gafuku passed away on June 14, 1959, at the age of 74, from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried in Mugombwa in the Diocese of Butare, with Bishop André Perraudin presiding over his burial.
Father Donat Reberaho, born in Save in 1884, was baptized on December 25, 1903. He was ordained as a priest on the same day as Father Gafuku. He passed away on May 1, 1926, at the age of 41.
The Catholic Church in Rwanda continued to grow after their ordinations. In 1952, Monsignor Aloys Bigirumwami became the first Rwandan bishop.
On November 28, 2020, Antoine Cardinal Kambanda, the Archbishop of Kigali, was appointed as Rwanda's first cardinal, further cementing Rwanda's place in the global Catholic community.
Théophile Niyitegeka
