Lawrence Mbwega

Monsignor

Lawrence Mbwega
Monsignor; Lawrence Mbwega
Priest of Kampala Archdiocese
Church	Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala
See	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala
Appointed	10 December 1939
Term ended	10 January 2010
Orders
Ordination	10 December 1939
Rank	Priest
Personal details
Born	Lawrence Mbwega; 5 November 1912; Lubongo Village, Nkokonjeru, Buikwe District, Uganda
Died	6 January 2010 (aged 97); Nsambya Hospital, Makindye Division, Kampala

Last updated December 23, 2024

Lawrence Mbwega (5 November 1912 - 6 January 2010) was a Ugandan Roman Catholic priest who was reported to be the country's longest-serving priest. At the time of his death aged 97 years and 2 months, he was still active as the caretaker priest of Queen Mother of Peace Kiwamirembe Shrine, a retirement home for Catholic priests in Lweeza in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kampala in Uganda.

He was ordained priest on 10 December 1939 and died on 6 January 2010, having served as priest for over 70 years. He spent a considerable period of time at Namugongo Parish as the parish priest. He is credited with having designed and supervised the construction of the lake with an outside altar adjacent to the Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo. He was the parish priest in the late 1960s and 1970s when the old church building was erased to make room for the current cathedral structure.

Background and education

He was born on 5 November 1912 in Lubongo Village, Nkokonjeru, Buikwe District, in southeast Uganda. His parents, Matayo Nandibijjo Lulume and Alistera Mbakolere hailed from the Buvuma Islands in Lake Victoria, but had relocated to the mainland during the sleeping sickness epidemic at the beginning of the 20th century.^[1]

He was baptized in the Catholic faith on 5 December 2012. In December 1925, he volunteered to his parish priest that he wanted to study to become a priest. After getting the consent of his parents, Mbwega joined Nyenga Seminary for the next six years. In 1931 he transferred to Ggaba Major Seminary, studying there for the next eight years. He was ordained priest on 10 December 1939.^[1]

Priesthood

While a priest he served in various roles including as outlined below:^[1]

On 2 February 1940, he was posted to Bududa near Mbale in the Bugisu sub-region. He was rotated from there to Budadiri, in Sironko District, then back to Bududa, Nyenga, in Buikwe District and back east to Kwapa, Tororo County, Tororo District, Eastern Region, Uganda. After serving in Pallisa, Nyondo (near Mbale) and Kwapa a second time, his service in the Eastern Region of Uganda came to an end in 1948.^[1]^[2]

He was then transferred to the Buganda Region of Uganda, starting at Namagunga Catholic Parish, then to Namilyango Catholic Parish. He then worked at Namugongo Catholic Parish, where he spent 25 years as the parish priest. While there, he is credited with the design and construction of the artificial lake outside the Uganda's Minor Basilica located there.^[1]^[2] He also co-founded Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo, a mixed boarding middle and high school.^[3]

After Namugongo, he worked in Malongwe, Buikwe, Buikwe District, Central Region, Uganda and finally Kiwamirembe, Lweeza, Wakiso District.^[1]^[2]

Illness and death

On Christmas day 2009, Father Mbwega celebrated Mass at Kiwamirembe. Afterwards he felt unwell. He was admitted to St. Francis Hospital Nsambya, in Kampala, the county's capital city. He died there on the morning of Wednesday, 6 January 2010. He was the longest-serving priest in Uganda at that time. He was buried at Kiwamirembe on Monday, 10 January 2010.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Mbale District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It is named after the largest city in the district, Mbale, which also serves as the main administrative and commercial center in the sub-region.

Soroti is a city in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main city, commercial, and administrative center in Soroti District, one of the nine administrative districts in the Teso sub-region. Soroti city was immediately approved for operationalization ahead of schedule by the Parliament of Uganda in the Financial Year 2020/2021.

The Catholic Church in Uganda is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

Articles related to Uganda include:

The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda.

Kira Town, a municipality in the Wakiso District of the Central Region of Uganda, is the country's second most populous city. It is administered by the Kira Town Council, an urban local government.

PostBank Uganda is a commercial bank in Uganda, licensed and supervised by the Bank of Uganda, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. The bank received her tier-1 banking license in December 2021.

Namugongo is a township in the Central Region of Uganda.

Nkokonjeru is a town council in Buikwe District in the Central Region of Uganda with villages such as: Namaliiri, Kigulu, Mulajje, Naziwanga, Ndolwa, Buira, Bukasa, Wabiduuku, Nsuube and Nkokonjeru Central. The town's name means "White Chicken".

The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs.

Cyprian Kizito Lwanga was a Ugandan Roman Catholic Prelate who served as Archbishop of Kampala from 2006 to his death. From 1996 to 2006, he served as Bishop of Kasana–Luweero.

Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo is a privately sponsored secondary school in Uganda under the Archdiocese of Kampala. The school is located in Namugongo Parish, Kira Sub-County, Wakiso District, Uganda

James Odongo was a Ugandan Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Tororo from 5 January 1985 until his retirement on 27 June 2007.

Nyenga Mission Hospital, whose formal name is St. Francis Hospital Nyenga, but is commonly referred to as Nyenga Hospital, is a non-profit, community hospital in Uganda. It is owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lugazi.

Namisindwa District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Bupoto is the district headquarters.

Charles Martin Wamika is a Roman Catholic priest, who is the Bishop of Jinja, since 2 March 2010.

Joseph Mukwaya, was a Ugandan Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana, from 21 June 1988 until his resignation, on health grounds, on 23 October 2004. He died on 5 September 2008, three weeks shy of his 78th birthday, as the Bishop Emeritus of Kiyinda-Mityana Diocese, in Uganda.

Lawrence Mukasa is a Roman Catholic prelate in Uganda, who serves as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasana-Luweero, since 5 August 2023. He was appointed as bishop and by Pope Francis on 29 April 2023. Prior to his appointment as Bishop of Kasana-Luweero, Monseigneur Lawrence Mukasa served as the Vicar-General of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kiyinda-Mityana, also in Uganda.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Fred Ouma (6 November 2006). "This Has No Headline: Biography of Monsignor Lawrence Mbwega". New Vision . Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
1 2 3 4 Juliet Lukwago (7 January 2010). "Monsignor Mbwega Dead". New Vision . Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
↑ UMSSN (2024). "History of Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo". Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo (UMSSN). Namugongo, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

External links

Unsung Hero of Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1R-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fred Ouma (6 November 2006). "This Has No Headline: Biography of Monsignor Lawrence Mbwega". New Vision . Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

[2R-2] 1 2 3 4 Juliet Lukwago (7 January 2010). "Monsignor Mbwega Dead". New Vision . Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

[3R-3] UMSSN (2024). "History of Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo". Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School Namugongo (UMSSN). Namugongo, Uganda. Retrieved 22 December 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]