JACKSON HOLE, WYO – If anyone has reason to hold a grudge, it’s Father Ubald Rugirangoga. The priest is currently saving souls out of Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic church in Jackson. It’s a long way from a fractured land where he watched his family butchered.
Father Ubald had a front row seat to the Rwandan genocide of 1994 that killed some 800,000 people. He personally lost more than 60 members of his family. But the ethnic cleansing massacre did not cause Fr. Ubald to lose sight of a basic tenant of his Christian faith: forgiveness.
Despite the horrors he has seen, the Rwandan refugee says unforgiveness is a bitter and heavy weight to bear.
See Father Ubald’s story tonight at Center for the Arts as the documentary Forgiveness: The Secret of Peace debuts at 6:30pm. It’s the story of a priest who fled his country’s terrible genocide and returned later to help it heal.
A Q&A with Father Ubald and the film’s director will be held immediately following the screening.
