Aloysius Bigirumwami

Who was Aloysius Bigirumwami?

Aloysius Bigirumwami was a Rwandan prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Nyundo from 1959 to 1973, having previously served as its Apostolic Vicar.

Born in Zaza, Bigirumwami was a descendant of Tutsi kings. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1929.

On February 14, 1952, he was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Nyundo and Titular Bishop of Garriana by Pope Pius XII, receiving his episcopal consecration on the following June 1. After his consecration, Nyundo received 20,000 converts. Bigirumwami was raised to the rank of Bishop upon his vicariate's elevation to a diocese on November 10, 1959; he thus became the first Rwandan bishop. He was also seen as a likely candidate to become a cardinal.

Bigirumwami, who had initially rejected the existence of a conflict between the two populations, supported the ethnic separation of the Tutsis, whose superiority he championed, and the Hutus.

The Bishop also believed that the conversion of the pagans within his jurisdiction could be achieved with a large number of priests. He once stated, "With enough priests to station one every ten kilometers, it would not take too long."