Head of Reconciliation Commission Speaks on Reconciliation in Rwanda

        Bishop John Rucyahana (retired), the former Anglican Bishop of the Shyira Diocese of Rwanda and founder of the Mustard Seed Project, will present “Post Genocide Reconciliation,” at The University of Scranton on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place in the Moskovitz Theater of the DeNaples Center. The lecture is part of the Jesuit university’s Year of Rwanda Series.

        Since his retirement, Bishop Rucyahana has served as president of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, the national chairman of Hope Rwanda and as the head of Prison Fellowship Rwanda.

        A native of Rwanda, Bishop Rucyahana went into exile as a teen. He studied at Bishop Tucker Theological College in Uganda and was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church. As he served, he continued his studies, including several years spent at Trinity Episcopal Ministry in Ambridge, Pa. He founded the Mustard Seed Project in the United States, a non-profit organization that provides support for several initiatives in East and Central Africa, including the Sonrise Boarding Schools in Musanze, Rwanda, as well as a number of orphanages in Rwanda and Uganda.

        He returned to Rwanda in the mid-1990s, serving in the aftermath of the violent, genocidal civil war, and was consecrated as Bishop of the Shyira Diocese in 1997. He is a leading advocate for reconciliation and healing between those affected by this conflict. His book, “The Bishop of Rwanda,” chronicles the devastation caused by the genocide in Rwanda, as well as efforts to recover from it.

        Rwanda will be the focus of the entire University community through a series of lectures, class discussions and events conducted during the 2010/2011 academic year.

        For additional information about this lecture, contact the University’s Office of Equity and Diversity at 941-6645.