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Few countries have experienced the destructive power of hate the way Rwanda has. Rwandans still live in the shadow of genocide that occurred there 23 years ago.

But faith is helping accelerate the small African country’s recovery, according to Soderstrom Architects principal Henry Fitzgibbon. He is designing a basilica for the tiny village of Kibeho, in southern Rwanda, after being approached by author Immaculee Ilibagiza; she saw work he had performed in Mount Angel.

鈥淪he was on (a book) tour, and we had just completed the bell tower for Mount Angel Abbey,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淪he called me up (and) asked if I would help get her basilica in Kibeho built. She wanted someone to come up with the design and shepherd the project.鈥�

The basilica, Ilibagiza said, will accommodate Catholic pilgrims who descend on the remote village twice per year to celebrate visions of the Virgin Mary that have been reported there since the 1980s.

鈥淭hey come to pray; they bring sick (people) from all over the world,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey sleep outside. They are prayer warriors. It can be raining and they will stay outside. It’s really sad.鈥�

Many of the villagers, Ilibagiza said, believe that children in 1990 witnessed a vision of the Virgin Mary that warned of rivers of blood as a prelude to the impending genocide that would occur in 1994. Deaths resulting from the conflict between two groups, the Hutus and Tutsis, are estimated to total between 500,000 and 1 million, including Ilibagiza’s mother, father and two of her brothers.

Ilibagiza’s family home was burned to the ground. She detailed in her book 鈥淟eft to Tell鈥� how she survived the mass killings by hiding with seven other women in a small bathroom of a Hutu pastor’s home for three months, while executioners roamed the countryside.

Ilibagiza hopes that Kibeho will serve as an example to the rest of the world of what can happen when hate becomes the ruling emotion of a country. She also hopes that Rwanda can serve as an example of how a country can recover from the horrific actions caused by such hate.

鈥淭he whole world should learn from Rwanda,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e all look alike, but these tribes hated each other. I never want what happened to me to happen to anyone.鈥�

The basilica is expected to help facilitate the recovery at the Kibeho apparition site. Other apparition sites such as Lourdes, in France, and Fatima, in Portugal, draw millions of visitors annually.

鈥淭hey want to build this basilica so that people can (experience) it,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淭he people are very devout. The kids would fall in ecstasy at the apparition site.鈥�

In order for Kibeho to become an official apparition site, the Catholic Church had to certify its authenticity. That was a lengthy process that involved an investigator examining the people claiming to have seen the visions. Certification by the church allowed officials to begin the process to decide what is needed at the site to aid visitors. Villagers believe the Virgin Mary has told them where the new basilica should be built.

鈥淭hey have priests from all over the region come and celebrate Mass; they dance and worship,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淚t happens in August during the feast of the Assumption of Mary. The other time is at the end of November on the anniversary on the first apparition.鈥�

The basilica is designed to include several rooftop structures that resemble the top of an African peace basket. The facility will be able to accommodate up to 6,000 worshipers inside, with room for up to 12,000 additional pilgrims outside.

鈥淲e are trying to make it look African and not too western,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淭he plan is that it will be sitting over the top of a parking garage. If it takes off like Lourdes or Fatima, they will need all the room they can get.鈥�

That is something the village is sorely lacking. The countryside features rolling hills that make construction of a permanent structure difficult.

鈥淩wanda is weird in that you don’t have any flat ground anywhere,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淲e squeezed as much as possible on the site.鈥�

Money is another issue for the project team. Entire development of the site could cost as much as $50 million, according to Fitzgibbon, who is providing his services pro bono. Ilibagiza is overseeing fundraising efforts in the United States.

The Catholic Church’s green light for the project has already led to new construction around Kibeho. The government is in the process of replacing the dirt road with a paved one. Also, a new hotel and new schools have popped up in the area.

Fitzgibbon has also been involved in the design of a dormitory for nuns who teach at a local school.

鈥淭hey have these schools and nowhere for the teachers to sleep,鈥� he said. 鈥�(Ilibagiza) thought we should do something for the nuns.鈥�

The revitalization efforts are appreciated, according to Marie-Claudine Fundi, who attended school in Kibeho.

鈥淚’ll say the construction would be a good thing for the community,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t would be good for the whole country.鈥�

Fundi, who now works for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., said that such development would lead to new construction and development not just in the village but throughout Rwanda.

鈥淚magine one of the poorest areas in Africa,鈥� Ilibagiza said. 鈥淣ow it became the most popular place in the country. Right now that has the potential.鈥�

Ilibagiza later rebuilt her home and donated it to help the recovery effort. She believes the basilica will not only benefit the pilgrims who visit the area, but also impoverished villagers.

鈥淚t’s rural poor,鈥� Fitzgibbon said. 鈥淚t’s not desperate. It seems to be tolerable for them. The kids are happy and seem to be well fed.鈥�

Ilibagiza’s message of forgiveness for the atrocities committed decades ago, however, wasn’t well received at first. The situation became so dangerous for her in Rwanda that the United Nations advised her to leave. She eventually arrived in the United States, and connected with Fitzgibbon.

鈥淚 know I was graced by letting go of the hate,鈥� Ilibagiza said. 鈥淚 pray for them rather than hating them. Now I can go back and speak about it. People can get it better. They know I struggled with hate.鈥�