Consecration of Kampala Archbishop set for next month

The Catholic Church has finally revealed the consecration timeline for the Kampala Archbishop-elect Paul Ssemogerere following his appointment by Pope Francis as new Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese on December 9.

Since his appointment as Kampala Archbishop early this month, the Church has been silent on the official period for the consecration the new Archbishop including the status of Kasana-Luweero Diocese where the Pope is yet to appoint the new bishop to replace Ssemogerere.

The Kampala Archbishop-elect in his Christmas message to devotees at Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, Kasana- Luweero Diocese, without disclosing the exact dates revealed that the consecration would be conducted in January 2022.

“The consecration of the Archbishop will be conducted in the month of January 2022. From the time of appointment, the new bishop has two months to assume duty at the new station. We shall soon announce the exact date for the ordination,” he said.

Bishop Ssemogerere clarified that Kasana- Luweero Diocese will not have a leadership vacuum when he finally assumes office as Kampala Archbishop.

“They might appoint an administrator or an apostolic administrator to take care of Kasana-Luweero Diocese. All the ongoing programmes including the preparation for Silver Jubilee celebrations set for March 2022 will continue as scheduled,” he added.

The process for appointment and consecration of the new bishop including the caretaker for a diocese is an internal system within the Catholic Church guided by the Canon law and channeled through official Church communication usually by the Apostolic Nuncio.

Archbishop Luigi Bianco, the Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda on December 9, 2021 delivered the news about the appointment of Bishop Ssemogerere as new Kampala Archbishop ending more than six months of speculation and anxiety among the Catholic community about the next Kampala Archbishop after the sudden death of Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga in April this year.

Kasana-Luweero Diocese, which is set to celebrate its 25^th anniversary on March 6, 2022 has had to deal with many adjustments through the more than two years of preparations occasioned by setbacks mostly caused by the Covid-19 induced lockdown that partly paralyzed the mobilization strategies.

Mr Boniface Ssetongo, the Kasana-Luweero Diocese leader of the Laity explains that they initially had planned to be with their founding leader Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga to honour him for the great work as pioneer bishop of the diocese.

“This opportunity was canceled when the Lord took away the Archbishop in April 2021. Bishop Ssemogerere, our bishop has also been appointed Archbishop of Kampala. He has been very instrumental and at the fulcrum of all the preparations for the Silver Jubilee celebrations. While the preparations continue, we are now struggling to deal with the setbacks and also pray that we soon get the good news about the new bishop for our diocese,” he said on Sunday.

About the Kampala Archdiocese

Kampala Archdiocese has its headquarters at Rubaga Hill in Rubaga Division, Kampala and is the Metropolitan sit for the Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Kampala taking care of the four Roman Catholic Dioceses under the Kampala Archdiocese.

The Dioceses include Lugazi, Kiyinda-Mityana, Masaka and Kasana-Luweero and the Kampala Archdiocese.

The Episcopal Conference of Uganda comprises of four ecclesiastical provinces that form the four Archdioceses of  Kampala , Gulu , Mbarara  and Tororo .