Immigrants & Refugees - Burundi

St. Leo the Great Parish began with immigrants and refugees parishioners.

This tradition continues as some of our recent parishioners are from Burundi, Africa, arriving a little over two years ago. Eight more families from Burundi recently arrived in our community this past month. To St. Leo’s growing list of nations, another fourteen families will be arriving within the month from the Democratic Republic of Congo, just east of Burundi.

Questions always pop up: “Where is Burundi?” and now, “Where is Congo?” Why are they here?
Maps explain more clearly from where our parishioners come. To the left of Burundi is the Congo, to the north, Rwanda, and to the east, Tanzania. Most of our Burundians are from “the 1972, group.” In that year, an all Hutu organization organized and carried out systematic attacks on ethnic Tutsi with the declared intent of annihilating the whole group.

The military regime responded with large-scale reprisals targeting Hutus. The total number of casualties was never established from these initial attacks in 1972, but estimates for the Tutsi genocide together with the Hutus’ deaths are said to exceed 100,000 at the very least.

Our Burundians fled to refugee camps - settlements of tents, community cooking areas, inadequate facilities, and often with a scarcity of food. Some often moved from camp to camp as warring factions attacked the area. As a protection, our Burundians’ names are all different for protection of being “affiliated” to the “wrong” person. For 30 years our parishioners were under duress, and lived everyday just to survive.

Political turmoil continued throughout the decades and still exists today. Two major genocideshave taken place: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated army from which our people were victims, and the 1993 mass killings of Tutsis by the Hutu populace.

Our Burundi & Congolese Sisters and Brothers

Many of our Burundi refugees arrived directly from African refugee camps with little more than the clothes on their backs. Fleeing decades of ethnic conflict and war in East Africa, many spent years in camps in Tanzania—where a generation of children was born.

Arriving in America brought an overwhelming transition—from adapting to new foods, customs, and language (Kirundi and Swahili) to navigating daily life. Despite these hardships, their faith remains their rock.

How St. Leo Supports Our Families:

• Spiritual Home: Providing weekly Sunday readings and prayer materials in Kirundi.

• Education & Language: Offering Monday evening ESL classes for adults and supporting youth enrolled in local schools, including ESL programs and Cristo Rey High School.

• Essential Care: Assisting with transportation to Mass, food from our pantry, clothing, furniture, Parish Nurse visits, and Fresh Start urban gardening.

Through the generosity of our parish family and local partners, we continue to answer God's call to welcome and walk alongside our refugee neighbors.