UGANDA: Two Major Seminaries Share a Fence, Both Attests Tremendous Student Admissions
St. Mary's National Major Seminary, Ggaba-Kampala
The premises of St. Mary’s National Major Seminary and St. Mbaaga Major Seminary of the Archdiocese Kampala are only separated by a fence. The two major seminaries, which have existed since 1970s have at no one time lacked seminaries.
How it happened that two major seminaries are not only located in one area but also share a fence is an issue that Seminary has continued to baffle many, according to Rev. Fr. Ambrose John Bwagatto, Prefect of Studies at St. Mbaaga.
According to Rev. Fr. Benedict Ssetuuma, the Academic Dean at St. Mary’s National Major Seminary in Ggaba-Uganda, Uganda previously had regional seminaries, which were established by the missionary Congregations that evangelized different parts of the country. For instance, the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) who evangelized the central, southern and western parts of the country built a Major Seminary in Katigondo, Masaka Diocese.
“The Mill Hill Fathers who operated around the Upper Nile up to Kavirondo side, established a Major Seminary in Ggaba called St. Mary’s; the Comboni Missionaries who evangelized the Northern part of Uganda built a Seminary in Lachor, in the Archdiocese of Gulu,” Fr. Ssetuuma explained.
In the late 1960s, the Uganda Episcopal Conference decided to establish a National Major Seminary system and so between 1968-69, the Conference phased out regional seminaries and created one Major Seminary at Katigondo. According to Fr. Ssetuuma, Katigondo Seminary soon became small and the Conference decided to start a new theological seminary, which was established in Ggaba in 1970.
“St. Mary’s Seminary at Katigondo was closed and Ggaba became the National Major Seminary. In 1976, Most Rev. Emmanuel Nsubuga (later Cardinal), the then Archbishop of Kampala decided to establish a diocesan Major Seminary which operated in the old buildings of Ggaba Pastoral Institute of Eastern Africa, and they called it St. Mbaaga Major Seminary,” Fr. Ssetuuma shared.
Archbishop Nsubuga’s decision to start a major seminary for the Archdiocese of Kampala was purely inspired by the need to have a seminary that caters for late or mature vocations. To date the institution admits students from different dioceses in and outside the country. Currently there are students from Kakamega and Kitale Dioceses in Kenya as well the Neo Catechumenal Way students who come from Cameroon, Italy, India, Colombia and England.
St. Mbaaga Major Seminary has both Philosophy and Theology Programs which runs for three year and Theology for four years respectively.
Currently the institution is full to capacity with students totalling 183. St. Mary’s National Major Seminary, on the other hand, has student population of 212, which is also the full capacity of the institution.
Fr. Bwagatto, Prefect of Studies at St. Mbaaga Major Seminary indicated that Uganda has a total of six major seminaries. These include St. Mbaaga Ggaba Major Seminary and St. Mary’s Ggaba National Major Seminary in Kampala Archdiocese; St. Thomas Aquinas Katigondo National Seminary in Masaka Diocese; Uganda Martyrs Alokulum National Seminary in Gulu Archdiocese; St. Paul’s Kinyamasika National Major Seminary in Fort Portal Diocese, and Our Lady Queen of Apostles Philosophy Centre, Jinja.
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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
