History of Saint John Bosco Parish of Rango
At the end of August 1985, the first Salesians (Father Jean Paul LEBEL, Father René Marie PICRON, and Brother Gaspard NTEZIRYAYO) began living in the new house at Rango, which was intended to help young confreres attend the Grand Seminary of Nyakibanda for their Theology studies.
Father Jean Paul LEBEL was the first director of the Salesian community of Rango. However, the confreres had already been in Butare since 1976. Before that, they lived in the Bernardine Sisters’ building, where the community of Salesian students of the Grand Seminary of Nyakibanda and their formators (Father Roger Vande Kerckhove, Father René Marie Picron, and Father Herman Croymans) resided.
Before 1986, the Christians of Rango had to go to the Cathedral Parish of Butare to attend Mass. When the confreres settled in Rango, the faithful began attending Mass in the community’s chapel to avoid the long journey to the Butare Cathedral. Seeing that the number of Christians attending the chapel kept increasing, the confreres decided to build a church for them. With the support of his benefactors from Canada, Father Jean Paul LEBEL, director of the Salesian community, built the first church in Rango.
On December 25, 1986, Christmas Day, the confreres celebrated Mass for the first time in the newly built church of Rango.
With the support of his benefactors from Slovenia, Father Danilo Lisjak enlarged the church in 1993. At that time, Rango was still a sub-station of the Butare Cathedral Parish. Initially, the confreres intended to celebrate only one Mass every Sunday, but due to the increasing number of faithful, they were obliged to celebrate two Masses. People were coming from three different parishes depending on their location: Butare Cathedral Parish (Tumba, Rango, and Nkubi), Kansi Parish (Sahera), and Nyumba Parish (Mubumbano).
On December 8, 1996, Saint John Bosco Parish of Rango was officially founded through the pastoral initiative of Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, then Bishop of the Diocese of Butare. Aware of the growing spiritual needs of the Christians in the Rango area and of demographic expansion, Bishop Gahamanyi decided to create a new parish to bring priests closer to the faithful. The Diocese of Butare entrusted the Salesians with the management of the newly founded Parish of Rango. The parish currently has three main centers: Rango, Cyarwa, and Sahera.
Since its foundation, Saint John Bosco Parish of Rango has become a dynamic spiritual, pastoral, and social center, serving several surrounding sectors. It regularly hosts Eucharistic celebrations, catechetical activities, Catholic action movements, and actively contributes to education and solidarity.
Faced with the constant increase in the number of Christians in the parish, Father Rémy Nsengiyumva, together with the members of the Salesian community and the Parish Council, decided in 2018 to launch the expansion of the church. This ambitious project aimed to provide a larger and more suitable space for the pastoral needs of a rapidly growing community. After three years of effort and dedication, the new church was completed and solemnly blessed on May 9, 2021, by Bishop Philippe Rukamba, Bishop of the Diocese of Butare, marking a significant milestone in the spiritual life of Rango Parish.
Since its foundation on December 8, 1996, six parish priests have succeeded one another in leading the parish: Father Adrien Kerkhofs (1995–1998), Father Danko Litric (1998–2001), Father Fabien Rutangira (2001–2007), Father Gaspard Nteziryayo (2007–2014), Father Rémy Nsengiyumva (2014–2023), and since August 15, 2023, Father Raphaël Katanga has been the parish priest of Rango.