SECAM: “Be a Good Shepherd,” Catholic Bishops of Africa to Kampala’s New Archbishop
SECAM President Philippe Nakellentuba Cardinal Ouédraogo.
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Catholic bishops in Africa under the continental body Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), have congratulated the newly installed Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere of Kampala Archdiocese, Uganda, urging him to minister to the people of God with a “Heart of a Good Shepherd.”
“We the Bishops of Africa, Madagascar and other lslands are delighted to celebrate with you today, your ascendency to the Metropolitan and Capital seat of Kampala. We encourage you to continue to be a pastor with the heart of a good shepherd and a humble servant of the Lord Jesus in Kampala Archdiocese,” reads part of the bishops’ statement signed by SECAM President Philippe Nakellentuba Cardinal Ouédraogo.
Archbishop Ssemogerere was installed the 4th Archbishop of Kampala Tuesday, January 25, at St. Mary’s Lubaga Cathedral, after serving in the Archdiocese as the Apostolic Administrator since April 2021 following the sudden death of Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga who was found dead in the morning of Saturday, April 3, a day after he joined the Uganda Joint Christian Council to commemorate the Way of the Cross.
Addressing the newly installed Archbishop who once served the Archdiocese as Vicar General for nearly 10 years, the bishops said, “You are not new to Uganda Metropolitan See, and owing to several years of dedicated service to the Church Family of God, in particular and to humanity in general, we are confident that you will perfectly fit in the shoes of your deceased predecessor, Archbishop Cyprian K. Lwanga, widely recognized as a dynamic and focused leader.”
Archbishop Ssemogerere was ordained a priest of Kampala in 1983, and ordained the second Local Ordinary of Uganda’s Kasan-Luwero Diocese in 2008 where he served till December 2021 when Pope Francis appointed him the Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese while he was serving as its Apostolic Administrator.
In the congratulatory message dated Tuesday, January 25, the SECAM prelates assured Archbishop Ssemogerere sustained spiritual and moral support in the “demanding responsibility,” asking intercession for all from “The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization and Queen of Africa.”
