Thirteen years before the horrific genocide in Rwanda, in which more than a million people were killed, the Virgin Mary first appeared to three schoolgirls, and the following year to a total of eight youths, seven girls and one boy, in a remote location in southern Rwanda. The Virgin Mary warned in her messages about the impending mass murder and communicated to the youths messages for the government and church leaders on how to end the hostility among the different ethnic groups. Initially, no one believed the girls. Their classmates mocked them, and the high school teachers as well as representatives of the established church were skeptical. However, when one miracle after another occurred in this remote place, many of the inhabitants of Rwanda made pilgrimages to Kibeho, often undertaking days-long treks through the bush.