{"id":23791,"date":"2026-01-09T14:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T11:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/?p=23791"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T11:37:12","slug":"uganda-bishop-kibira-appoints-chaplain-as-kasese-launches-digital-catholic-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2026\/01\/09\/uganda-bishop-kibira-appoints-chaplain-as-kasese-launches-digital-catholic-church\/","title":{"rendered":"UGANDA: Bishop Kibira Appoints Chaplain as Kasese Launches Digital Catholic Church"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Masereka<\/em><\/p>\n

On 26 December 2025, the feast of St. Stephen, the Diocese of Kasese, Uganda, officially launched the St. Carlo Acutis Online Catholic Church at Our Lady of the Assumption Kasese Cathedral Church. In a move aimed at expanding evangelization through digital media.<\/p>\n

The launch was presided over by Bishop Francis Aquirinus Kibira Kambale, Ordinary of the Diocese of Kasese. During a Holy Mass attended by clergy, diocesan leaders, and members of the faithful, Bishop quoted Pope Benedict XVI, as the first Pope to describe social media as another world, a \u201cdigital world,\u201d asking church leaders to find ways of reaching that world and preach the word of God.<\/p>\n

In his homily, Bishop Kibira emphasized love as the foundation of Christian life, urging believers to love God, love others, and first respect themselves. He noted that genuine love and respect for others are impossible without self-respect rooted in God. The bishop further called on parents to love their children and keep them close to God, and to monitor what their children watch on media, stressing that this responsibility can only be fulfilled when parents themselves love God and cherish their families.<\/p>\n

Bishop Kibira also quoted the late Pope Francis, who, during lockdown, said there is indeed much to be done to grow together in awareness of the importance, but also the risks involved in using these tools. There is much to learn about listening, engaging, and training young digital natives to revitalize parish websites.<\/p>\n

The bishop highlighted the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding Christians to do God\u2019s will, encouraging the faithful to seek His presence daily. He invited believers to \u201clove heaven\u201d and find their path to holiness through forgiveness, love, and the example of saints, particularly St. Carlo Acutis. Bishop Kibira reminded Christians that Jesus desires to live in them, urging frequent reception of Christ in the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

Explaining the purpose of the online ministry, diocesan leaders said the initiative seeks to promote prayer, evangelization, and love of Christ through digital platforms. The online church will particularly serve Catholics in the Middle East, Arab countries, and other distant regions where physical access to church services is limited, enabling them to participate in Masses and diocesan programs virtually.<\/p>\n

During the launching, Bishop Kibira appointed one of his diocesan priests, a student in Ireland, Rev. Fr. Obaldo Muhindo Sumba, as the Online Church Chaplain.<\/p>\n

Rev. Fr. Obaldo Sumba urged Christians not to be lost in digital and social disconnection, but to use their platforms to spread the holy news with courage, more than they do to promote soccer.<\/p>\n

The Chief Guest, Mr. Aggrey Turuganya, who warned parents about the dangers of social media for young people, urged the online church to fully utilize the digital space to promote Catholic values and norms, emulating Kasese Guide Radio, which has done commendable work in communicating sense to the world.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Mr. John Mbusa, the Plan International Deputy Country Director based in Liberia, commended Kasese Guide Radio, through its social media channels and online radio, for updating the world on the Bishop\u2019s Pastoral visit, Masses, and other church programs in the diocese.<\/p>\n

The launch ceremony began with Bishop Kibira chanting the Uganda Martyrs Day theme for 3 June 2026, which the Diocese of Kasese will lead: \u201cChrist is alive in you and me.\u201d The congregation joined him in song. In a brief address, the bishop outlined the life and witness of St. Carlo Acutis, describing him as a model for digital evangelization. He noted that Carlo documented Eucharistic miracles worldwide and Marian apparition sites, including Kibeho in Rwanda, dedicating his life to promoting devotion to the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

The bishop urged Catholics to embrace St. Carlo Acutis as the patron saint of Catholics online, encouraging unity with God through digital devices under his intercession. He later introduced the elected leadership of the St. Carlo Acutis Online Catholic Church, naming Fr. Ubaldo Sumba Muhindo as Chaplain, Augustine Mumbere as Head of Laity, Serina Kyakimwa (based in Saudi Arabia) as Vice Head, Mugisa Godfrey Kataliku as Secretary, Erius Bwambale as Vice Secretary, and Fr. Syathetha Joseph Kule as Treasurer.<\/p>\n

He finally invited all the faithful to participate in diocesan programs and to support him, especially in ongoing diocesan projects such as the new cathedral construction and the forthcoming National animation of the Uganda Martyrs Day at the National Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, which the diocese of Kasese will lead.<\/p>\n

END<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Peter Masereka On 26 December 2025, the feast of St. Stephen, the Diocese of Kasese,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amecea-news","category-uganda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23792,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23791\/revisions\/23792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}