St. John's News
Rwandan Genocide Survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza to Appear at St. John’s University During Founder’s Week
January 22, 2007
Queens, N.Y. -
St. John’s Vincentian Center
for Church and Society will host the appearance of Rwandan
genocide survivor and author
Immaculée Ilibagiza (pronounced Ill-ee-ba-gee-za) during the
University’s Founder’s
Week celebration January 25-31, 2007.
Ilibagiza will speak on January 31 to close the week-long
schedule of activities at a lecture entitled “Forgiveness and
Reconciliation: Pathways to Solidarity” attended by students,
faculty and University administrators at the Queens Campus’ Little
Theatre adjacent to Carnesecca Arena. Prior to the lecture,
Ilibagiza will hold a brief press conference and be available for
one-on-one interviews at Taffner Field House at 2 p.m. The lecture
promptly begins at 4 p.m.
“While Immaculee’s story is set against the unthinkable
atrocities of the Rwandan massacre, she reminds us of the need to
reflect on our common humanity and shared responsibility to be
persons of peace,” said Sr. Margaret John Kelly, Executive Director
for Church and Society at St. John’s University. “While few are
called to the heroic and saintly levels of forgiveness which she
reached, forgiveness is the measure of our goodness and intrinsic
to our freedom.”
The lecture will highlight the 13th Annual Founder’s Week
Celebration, which has been a University staple each year in
honoring St. Vincent de Paul, designed to increase the knowledge of
the Vincentian heritage of St. John’s and to animate the Vincentian
spirit and tradition into the 21st century. This year’s theme of
“Solidarity” emphasizes St. John’s commitment to a global
civilization and Vincent de Paul’s efforts to draw all levels of
society together within the human family.
Ilibagiza has achieved world-wide acclaim for her book with
Steve Erwin entitled “Left To Tell: Discovering God
Amidst the Rwandan holocaust” and was featured in an interview
in December 2006 on CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes.” Her lecture will
chronicle her plight (in 1994 in Rwanda) while emphasizing and
embracing the power of prayer through which she discovered the
importance of forgiveness. Believing that what happened in
Rwanda happened to us all, Immaculee is committed through her
lectures and her foundation to assist the victims of war and
genocide to “healing one heart at a time.” She believes that
only love and forgiveness will heal our broken world and make it a
world of peace.
All media representatives are required to RSVP for attendance to
the press conference by calling Dominic Scianna, Director of Media
Relations at St. John’s University by calling (718) 990-6185 or
e-mail inquiries to sciannad@stjohns.edu.
For more information on Ilibagiza’s book, please visit www.LeftToTell.com.