Mission
How long have you been at Our Lady of Africa Mbuya Parish?
I would say that altogether it is 11 years. I arrived at Mbuya in 2008. After my ordination in 1996, I was assigned to Mexico, the first love of my missionary life where I worked for 10 years. I loved their religiosity and style of Catholicism. Their humor and spirit of celebration is also enticing. The “Musica ranchera” with beautiful melodies and good messages can be heard all over Mexico. It was a new world and a new experience.
After ten years, I returned to Uganda. In 2006, I did a renewal course in South Africa and on arriving in Uganda in 2007, I was assigned to Jinja Postulancy to help in formation of our seminarians. Then it was in 2008 when I was asked to come to Mbuya Parish to give a hand to Frs. Joseph Archetti and Mario Imperial who were sickly. I was privileged to live with these great Comboni Missionaries until God called them to heaven in 2014.
How has your experience as Parish Priest of Mbuya been?
I was asked to become the Parish Priest of Mbuya in 2012; which was very humbling. I accepted the challenge with faith and I knew it was a great responsibility of the stewardship of the mysteries of God. I was convinced that Jesus and his Spirit were always at my side. I asked Mother Mary our Patron Saint to help me. God gave me good people who encouraged me by their love and support. The number of people coming for the Liturgy and the Sacraments was overwhelming. The young and old flocked our Parish and the lively liturgies on Sundays gave a sense of satisfaction to the people. We had to deal with the challenges of Parking and security because of the big crowd.
What has your pillar been at the Parish?
Our pillar is the one that St. John describes in his Gospel. “The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him.” (John 1:9-11) He is the visionary among us, he is the light bearer, he is the stone rejected by the builders which has become the cornerstone. I believe that everyone who came to Mbuya was coming for an encounter with Christ.
What did you love most as the Parish Priest?
Our Community is multicultural and multiethnic. It was beautiful to see that it did not matter anymore where one comes from. That Christ was transforming the people into a real Christian community of brothers and sisters. It was beautiful to see the response of the Christians when called upon to bring food for the needy of our Parish. For me, the greatest value in any given family or community is caring, caring and caring.
This was evident and present in Mbuya. I loved to see many prayerful people, many committed people, men and women with great love for Jesus and his Church. It was beautiful to see many young and old people very committed in the choirs, altar servers, great couples, great catechists, religious women and Christian leaders.
What did you find Challenging in your Mission at Mbuya?
I have discovered that the most profound misery in our life is the lack of God. People are hungry for God and searching for an authentic spirituality with hope of finding many answers to their questions. Indeed, the work in the vineyard is much and the laborers are few. The challenge was how we satisfy this spiritual hunger. Besides spiritual poverty; there is material poverty in our Parish. There is sickness and that is why we have ReachOut Mbuya HIV/AIDS initiative organization in our Parish.
The other challenge is Education. About 70% of the people that come to church have not completed senior four. That is why we put more attention to our schools of St.Kizito, Bugolobi.
What do you consider your success at the Parish?
Only God knows the success! However, what was very outstanding is the active participation in the Eucharist and people’s reception of the Sacraments. From another perspective, The Holy Cross was a great achievement. A fruit of an experience I had in Tepatitlan, Jalisco in Mexico where the “El Senor de la Misericordia” or the Lord of Mercy, a famous, popular and miraculous appearance of the Lord Jesus had writings labeled below the cross saying that “cada pueblo tiene un Cristo y cada Cristo tiene un Pueblo” which literally translates that every people has a Jesus Christ and every Jesus Christ has people. These words inspired me to install one at Mbuya like the one in Tepatitlan.
It was made possible by the Provincial by then Fr. Silvester Hategekimana, Mr. Patrick Loti, our architect Agustus Tukahebwa and Engineer Francis Xavier Galabuzi. Also, my friends in Mexico promised to support me. We had everything in place by God’s grace. The important moment was the blessing of the Cross by then Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Michael August Blume SVD in 2014. To me, this became a land mark that gave another face to Mbuya and a welcome monument for the followers of Christ that flock to Mbuya. It is a reminder to all of us that the Lord is good all the time.
The other success was the construction of Comboni House next to the Church that now houses the book center. The structure was named after St.Comboni to remind us that Mbuya and the Comboni missionaries are a result of St.Comboni’s dream, “Africa or death”.
Another Success was the construction of a beautiful priest’s house at Banda Sub Parish next to Kyambogo University. A dream came true for the people of Banda with the support of the Christians of Mbuya. Banda has the potential to become a center for animation and vocation promotion because of its location. It can also grow into a Parish in the future.
In 2015, we were able to purchase a good piece of land of 103 Acres about 7km from Kapeeka in Nakaseke District. On this land, we already have Eucalyptus trees of about 15acres and 2acres of fruit trees plus a small banana plantation. In terms of propelling the Parish to the future, this was the greatest achievement ever. Many more beautiful achievements can be mentioned; ReachOut celebrated 15years of caring for the poor and most afflicted, the Completion of the 3 storeyed girl’s dormitory at St. Kizito Secondary School Bugolobi, the Purchase of two Tata buses for St.Kizito Primary School Bugolobi, the purchase of a Tata bus for St. Kizito Secondary school Bugolobi etc.
What message do you have for the Parishioners and the readers?
Our faith is a treasure. If you think about the sacrifices the first Christians endured because of Jesus, then you come to understand that the resurrection of Jesus was a great event. Comboni used to say Africa or death. Mbuya would not have been built if Comboni had not come to Africa. It is also important to make a reflection on a personal level on the root of our faith. That is, is it my village church, school, family, my parents, grandparents, Catechist, a missionary etc.
This will help us to look at life with gratitude. To know that God loves us in a personal way and that is why he led us to Jesus, the light that enlightens every one. Lastly, I want to say thank you to everyone. To the Parishioners of Mbuya, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you. I will always carry you in my heart. I cannot forget to ask forgiveness for my shortcomings which must be many because of our human condition. We keep each other in prayer. I love you with all my heart.
