JSerra Catholic High School to Host Adelante Fest 2025 Featuring Rwandan Genocide Survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza

JSerra Catholic High School will host Adelante Fest 2025 on Saturday, October 11, 2025, featuring internationally acclaimed author and motivational speaker Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. The event begins with Vigil Mass at 4:00 p.m. followed by the festival from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. on the JSerra campus. Patrick Reidy, Vice President of Mission & Faith at JSerra Catholic High School, emphasized the significance of the event, stating that Adelante Fest represents more than just an event but rather an encounter with faith and community building.

Reidy noted that Ilibagiza's presence provides students, families, and the wider public with a living example of forgiveness and Christian hope in the face of extreme suffering. Immaculée Ilibagiza brings a profound personal story of survival and transformation. She survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide by hiding in a 3×4-foot bathroom for 91 days with seven other women. Despite enduring unimaginable fear and loss, she has transformed her experience into a powerful message of hope, forgiveness, and reconciliation that she now shares with global audiences.

The festival offers attendees various activities including interactive photo booths, bounce houses, field games, and face painting alongside the keynote address. Tickets for the festival are available for purchase at jserra.simpletix.com, with general admission priced at $15 for adults and $10 for children. JSerra Catholic High School, which provides information about its programs at jserra.org, maintains an independent Catholic educational environment focused on forming faith, intellect, and character within a Christ-centered learning community.

The inclusion of Immaculée Ilibagiza at Adelante Fest 2025 represents an important opportunity for community engagement with themes of resilience and spiritual transformation. Her testimony of surviving genocide and choosing forgiveness over hatred provides a relevant message for contemporary audiences facing various forms of adversity and conflict. The school offers specialized Magnet Programs in medicine, engineering, business, and law, along with extensive athletic and arts programs, creating a comprehensive educational framework that complements the spiritual formation emphasized through events like Adelante Fest.

This event highlights how educational institutions can serve as platforms for promoting messages of healing and reconciliation that extend beyond academic instruction. By bringing together community members around themes of faith and forgiveness, JSerra Catholic High School demonstrates the vital role that faith-based organizations play in addressing societal challenges through spiritual guidance and community building. The festival's combination of recreational activities with profound spiritual messaging creates an accessible entry point for individuals to engage with important themes of resilience and transformation.