The faithful of the parish came in large numbers to participate in the long-awaited consecration ceremony. Among the ecclesiastical figures present, Msgr. Gervais Banshimirubusa, archbishop of Bujumbura, the main celebrant, and Msgr. Évariste Ngoyagoye, bishop emeritus of the same archdiocese, in addition to the Vicar of the “Africa Great Lakes” Vice Province, Fr Raymond Bavumiragiye, and many other Salesians who work in Burundi. As regards the institutional authorities, there was none other than the Vice President of the Republic, Hon. Prosper Banzombaza.

At 10:30 the procession began which, leaving the building that welcomes pilgrims, arrived at the door of the shrine, where Msgr. Banshimirubusa introduced the ceremony with a special admonition, then opened its doors.

At that point the Mass began, well animated by the parish choir and young dancers. The consecration of the shrine took place in several phases: first the blessing of the altar, the tabernacle, the lectern and the walls with the sprinkling of holy water. The assembly then invoked the saints through litanies, and relics were placed on the altar. Then all the elements that had been sprinkled with holy water were also anointed with holy oil and incensed. Later, the altar was covered with a white tablecloth, flowers were placed on it and candles were lit.

In his homily, Msgr. Banshimirubusa thanked God for allowing this shrine to be built and blessed. He underlined the fact that a shrine is a place of grace, prayer and conversion and, with reference to the Gospel of the day, he spoke of the role that the Virgin Mary played in Cana and the role it still plays in the daily life of every human being.

At the end of the Mass, two people gave official speeches. Fr Bavumiragiye thanked all those who contributed to the shrine's construction project and offered a few notes on the history of devotion to Mary Help of Christians in the Salesian Congregation. The Vice President of the Republic thanked the Salesians, the local Church and its pastors, inviting the Salesians to carry out other development projects.

The celebrations for the great ceremony continued outside, in front of the church, in a well-equipped place for celebrations.

Finally, the Archbishop of Bujumbura thanked the Salesians for their fine collaboration and asked that the parish and the shrine be well managed separately, so that each reality can do its part in the best possible way. Then, he urged the Salesians to build a good school in Buterere and concluded his speech with a blessing.

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