A house of peace
The story of the Missionaries of Africa in Kigali — and the house they opened in 2021.
The house and its courtyard
Rooted in faith. Open to everyone.
Centre Missionnaire Lavigerie is a welcome house of the Missionaries of Africa, the religious community founded by Cardinal Charles Lavigerie in 1868 and known in Rwanda as the White Fathers. It is open to everyone, regardless of religion.
The house sits on KN 3 Rd, a five-minute walk from the centre of Kigali: brick, gardens, a chapel, a table and room for more than a hundred guests. It is a place to stay, to meet, to celebrate and to be quiet.
A vision that took ten years
The project began in 2011, when the community started to imagine a house that could support the mission of evangelisation in Central Africa and serve as a place of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness.
On 16 December 2021, after years of work, the centre was inaugurated. It opened with a simple idea: that hospitality is a form of mission — receiving each guest with care, whatever their faith or reason for travelling.
The heart of the house
The chapel is the heart of the house. It is open every day for prayer and quiet, and guests of all faiths — and of none — are welcome to sit, pray or join the daily Mass.
The crucifix, the Marian image and the light through the windows make it the stillest room in the house. It is also where many of the weddings hosted here begin.
Daily Mass · Sunday 7:30 · Times may change — please confirm with reception.
Hospitality as a vocation
The house belongs to the Missionaries of Africa and is looked after by a team that cares for the rooms, the kitchen, the gardens and the events.
The community is photographed here with guests at the centre. Their welcome is the reason the house exists — and the reason guests come back.
Brick, gardens and the hills of Kigali
Brick, covered walkways, clipped hedges and the hills of Kigali around the garden. The architecture is simple and generous: high windows, deep corridors, room to breathe.
It was designed to be a house first and a hotel second — a place where the chapel, the table and the bedroom are all a few steps from one another.
A short timeline
The vision
The community begins to plan a welcome house in Kigali.
The inauguration
On 16 December, the centre opens its doors.
A working house
Rooms, conferences, weddings, retreats and a chapel, open to all.
“A place of peace, reconciliation and forgiveness.”The mission of the house
Come and stay
The house is open to everyone. Book a room, come for Mass, or write to us about a retreat or a celebration.