A prison in Kigali soon to be transformed into a cathedral?

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

In Rwanda, the Catholic Church has received the green light from the local authorities to develop its cathedral project on the site of the capital's oldest prison.

Nicknamed "1930", the Nyarugenge prison is a vast 5.5-hectare property in the heart of Kigali, the capital. After years of speculation over the use of the prison site, it could house what would be the country's largest Catholic cathedral, the Rwandan daily The New Times reported on 23 January 2020.

Located in Kigali's central business district, the facility, built in 1930, is one of the oldest buildings in the capital. The last group of inmates was transferred from this historic prison in July 2018 to a new correctional facility, the Cath.ch agency reported.

Completion of the work in 2021

Kigali's Director of Urban Planning announced that the Catholic Church has been given the green light to develop a concept for a state-of-the-art cathedral. He stressed that in order to preserve the heritage and distinctive character of the facility, the Church has been asked to provide a detailed plan of how it intends to integrate the old building into its work. If all goes according to plan, the construction of the new cathedral could be completed by the end of 2021.

This is a dream come true for the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kigali, Mgr Antoine Kambanda, just one year after his arrival. At last year's Christmas Mass, Archbishop Kambanda told members of the congregation that the project for the new cathedral was "progressing well".

Source: Vatican News