Prime
Finally, Catholics are giving their founding fathers a decent burial
Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala and the Papal Ambassador to Uganda, Archbishop Paul Tschang In-Nam, look at the remains of the white fathers at a function to mark 132 years of Catholic evangelism last week.
What you need to know:
After 132 years, the Catholic echelon in Uganda have decided to give the white fathers a decent burial, writes Martin Ssebuyira.
Every February 17, there is a lot of merrymaking as the Catholic Church celebrates the coming of the pioneers of Catholicism in Uganda. Worship is normally characterised by repentance, self examination and assessment of how the church has moved on - its failures and achievements.
At this year’s celebrations at brother Amans Mapeera Church at Kigungu Landing Site, behind Entebbe International Airport, Catholics from various parts of the world were mesmerised as the church carried the remains of the first white fathers, Brother Delmas Amans and Fr Simeon Lourdel Marpel “Mapeera” for public viewing. At the function, officiated by the Papal Ambassador to Uganda, Archbishop Paul Tschang In-Nam, Kampala Archbishop Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga re-echoed the need to re-bury the remains.
“We need to decently re-bury the remains of the white fathers and thank God for enabling them to carry out their Christian mission,” Dr Lwanga said. Lwanga said it’s the white fathers who brought a light that spread into the construction of education, health facilities and other infrastructure that makes Ugandans proud.
“Culturally and religiously, we must re-bury these remains at Nabulagala in Kasubi because it’s the land that Kabaka Edward Muteesa offered them to build the first Catholic church in Uganda in 1879,” says Fr Richard Nnyombi, the parish priest of Nabulagala-Lubya Church.
Father Nnyombi says the late Cardinal Nsubuga collected the remains of the white fathers from Bagamoyo and Lubaga cemeteries and kept them in a secret place until the church resolved to re-bury them. Other than brother Delmas Amans and Fr Lourdel, they hope to re-bury the remains of Mgr Leon Livinhac, Fr Leon Barbot and Fr Girault Ludovic who all started Catholicism in Uganda.
From February 2006, his Eminence, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, has been preparing Nabulagala to become an autonomous parish, together with a team of four fathers; Richard Nnyombi, Charles Kasule, Desiré Le Goff and Stagiaire Desta Abino.
Fathers Lourdel and Amans left Marseilles, France, with the first caravan of White Fathers on April 22, 1878. They reached Zanzibar on May 30 and on June 17, they ventured on foot into the interior of Africa through the wilderness, walking in a caravan of more than 400 porters, armed guards and other people for seven months.
According to clerics, they covered a distance of around 700 miles via Tabora to Kageye at the South of Lake Victoria. From the south of Lake Victoria, the two went north across the lake to explore the situation in Uganda and landed at Kigungu peninsula, where a modest monument still marks the spot.
Cardinal Wamala describes Fr Lourdel as a man of deep faith who ardently loved God and had a great desire to lead people to Him. The cardinal concludes that it’s because of the white fathers’ great work that after only six years, many young Christians were strong enough to suffer martyrdom.
