Bishop Leon Paul Classe and the Paradigm Shift of Priesthood in Rwanda

Modern Rwandan history is indubitably linked to the history of the Catholic Church in Rwanda. Contemporary historians agree on the fact that Bishop Classe is an indispensable historical figure in that shared history. They differ however when it comes to the interpretation of his role. This book intends to examine the priesthood phenomenon in this small central-eastern African country through its second Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Léon Paul Classe, who had a lasting effect on Rwandan Catholicism and in a special way its clergy, which celebrated the first centenary of its existence in 2017 and had its first indigenous Cardinal on November 28, 2020. The reader will figure out the impact of Classe’s decisions on the Catholic Church in Rwanda and above all its indigenous clergy, as an entity that belonged to the pioneers of modern Rwandan intelligentsia which was likely to influence the rest of the people. It has also sought to understand the influence of Catholic clergy, on traditional Rwandan society, colonial Rwanda, and Rwanda as an emergent, independent nation.