St. Luke Kashorero Centre
- P.O.Box: 150, MBARARA
- Religious Congregations: Diocesan Priests
- Parish Priest: Fr. Bruno Tumuramye
St. Luke Kashorero Centre was carved out of Butare Parish and received its first resident priest in October 2013. Fr. Hillary Turyahabwe was the founding priest, followed by Fr. Didas Tumwiine. On August 12, 2019, Fr. Bruno Tumuramye took charge and was joined by Fr. Chrispus Amumpaire on September 12, 2022. Both are currently serving the parish.
Geographical Location and Boundaries
St. Luke Kashorero Centre is located in Kitega Parish, Bisya Sub-county, Buhweju Constituency, Buhweju District, which is hilly in nature. Other sub-counties in the centre include Buhunga, Karungu, and Rwengwe. The centre borders Butare Parish to the northeast, Mabonwa Parish to the southeast, and Rubindi Parish to the south and west.
Catholic Population in Relation to Other Faiths
The area covered by St. Luke Kashorero Centre is predominantly Catholic (about 80%). Other religions include Anglican (about 15%), Pentecostal churches (about 4%), and Islam (about 1%).
Number of Schools
- Nursery & Primary Schools: 17 Catholic-founded, 5 privately owned.
- Secondary Schools: 2 Catholic-founded, 1 seed school, and 1 private school.
Number of Centres/Hiikas/BCC
- Centres: 15
- Hiika: 15
- Basic Christian Communities (BCC): 269
Other Social Amenities
- Health: Karungu Health Center III, Mushasha Health Center III, Bisya Health Center II, and various privately owned small clinics spread across different trading centres.
- Recreational Grounds: Limited due to the mountainous relief of the parish.
Pastoral/Strategic Plan or Future Focus
- Evangelization: Foster personal relationships with Jesus, growth in faith through renewal workshops/conferences, and sending more candidates for catechetical training.
- Strengthening Marriage & Family Life: Promote family participation in parish ministry programs, create cohesive family ministry, and support young families.
- Faith Formation: Establish a faith formation team, create small faith communities, and provide resources to strengthen the domestic church (Catholic families).
- Leadership Formation: Identify and train new leaders.
- Expansion of Resources: Acquire more land for agriculture and set up income-generating activities.
Projects
Small-scale projects involving goats, sheep, pigs, cows, rabbits, and chickens. Approximately half an acre of banana plantation.
Other Relevant Information
Challenge: St. Luke Kashorero Centre headquarters sits on only 3.7 acres of land, limiting the scope of extensive projects. One of the future plans is to acquire more land.
Compiled by: Fr. Bruno Tumuramye (Priest In-charge) & Fr. Chrispus Amumpaire (Assistant)