Missioni Don Bosco Turin supports Kabgayi Chapel extension

Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16ZTJQYUZXw

Christians who use the Chapel of Mary Help of Christians in Kabgayi will soon begin to attend Mass in an enlarged chapel after Missioni Don Bosco Turin has given them considerable support to extend the existing chapel which accommodated a small number of people while the number of Christians continues to increase these days.

The extension activities of the chapel and other sanitary infrastructures at Don Bosco Kabgayi which is located in the southern province of Rwanda, in the district of Muhanga, have started and are proceeding smoothly, with the completion expected by the end of July this year.

As Brother Havyarimana Diomede, economer of this community explains, in the past 11 years, people were praying in a small chapel that “we would even call a small room”.

At that time, there were 5 salesian members in this community. Many people from outside wanted to come to the chapel to pray with these five Salesians.

However, the place was not enough. That time, only two or three people from outside came inside for mass while others had to stay outside the chapel.

“So the idea was to ask ourselves if we cannot build a chapel, a small chapel since the young scholastic who were preparing for life of either priests or Salesian brothers, and this is how we had this idea and now the time has come when a benefactor wanted to finance this project to build a small chapel.

“The chapel that was there as you can see, this chapel could only host between 150 people and 200. But as the years go on, the number of faithful has increased. Until recently in the month of February of this year those who enter inside, they arrive at 170 or 180 people, and more than 150 other persons stay outside the Chapel. ” Brother Havyalimana explains.

It is after having this situation that they have another idea of extending this chapel. The idea was well received by the Salesian benefactor Missioni Don Bosco Turin who financed this extension project with also the construction of toilets for the faithful who will come there for Mass and others which are also under construction and will be used by young people attending oratory activities.

Again, this good idea was also supported by Christians who also gave their material or financial contribution in their respective capacity.

As Maurice Ngabonziza, Christian and Salesian co-operator, “this moment is a moment of joy since the beginning of the activities to extend this chapel, we Christians are very happy considering the problem of lack of seats in the church. There were those who would sit outside and even during the rainy season, people can be affected and this affects those who attended the mass.”

For Father Joseph Kabadugaritse, superior of Kabgayi Salesian community comments “My feeling is of great gratitude to God who enables this, to the benefactors who give themselves and to the workers who get into it with such joy. We hope that soon the joy will be greater when we have time to pray in this enlarged chapel. “

Fully completed, the chapel will accommodate more than 300 people and this will solve the current problem of insufficient seats. All construction activities are expected to be completed by the end of July 2020.