Bible belonging to Evariste Kagorora, killed on 11 April 1994 in Rwanda, in the church where he had sought refuge
Evariste Kagorora, a young Tutsi from Rwanda, took refuge in the Saint Famille church in Kigali in early April 1994, after the start of the dramatic genocide, thinking it was a safe place. After three days, the church was surrounded. Hutu gunmen entered and forced the men outside (only the men, because according to Rwandan tradition the ethnic group communicates through men). Evariste was among them. He knew what awaited him and only had his Bible with him. As he was leaving the church he saw his sister, handed her the Bible and said: ‘They will kill me, take this Bible, it is the most precious thing I have: it is my very life’. On reaching the threshold of the church Evariste was killed. His Bible has been in the basilica of St Bartholomew on the Island since 3 January 2004.


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