A story of faith, hope, and forgiveness. Immaculée Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them. It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers. The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.

This event is co-sponsored by ASM, Badger Catholic, Blackhawk Church CAM, Door Creek Church, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parrish, and Upper House.

* Join us for an after party, Q&A, and book signing with Immaculee Ilibagiza to be held at Upper House (365 East Campus Mall, Suite 200 Madison, WI 53715) immediately following the event at Gordon.

More about Immaculée:

Immaculée’s first book, Left to Tell; Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (Hay House) was released in March of 2006. Left to Tell quickly became a New York Times Best Seller. To date, it has been translated into seventeen languages and has sold over two million copies. Immaculée’s story has also been made into a documentary entitled The Diary of Immaculée. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, The CBS Early Show, CNN, EWTN, CBS Evening News, The Aljazeera Network as well as in The New York Times, USA Today, Newsday, and many other domestic and international publications. She was recently featured in Michael Collopy’s Architects of Peace project, which has honored legendary people like Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Immaculée has received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s University, Seton Hall University, Siena College, Walsh University and the Catholic University of America. She has been recognized and honored with numerous humanitarian awards including The Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace, the American Legacy’s Women of Strength & Courage Award, and the 2015 National Speaker’s Assocation’s Master of Influence Award.

Left to Tell has received a Christopher Award “affirming the highest values of human spirit,” and was chosen as Outreach Magazine’sselection for “Best Outreach Testimony/Biography Resource of 2007.” Left to Tell has been adopted into the curriculum of dozens of high schools and universities, including Villanova University, which selected it for their “One Book Program,” making Left to Tell mandatory reading for its 6,000 students.

Immaculée has written six additional books in recent years – Led by Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide, Our Lady of Kibeho, If Only We Had Listened, Visit from Heaven, The Boy Who Met Jesus, and The Rosary.

Today, Immaculée is regarded as one of world’s leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. She has shared this universal message with world leaders, school children, multinational corporations, churches, and at events and conferences around the world, including a recent presentation to over 200,000 people in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

A major motion picture about her story is under production with an international release in theaters in 2018.