Church bids farewell to Sister Nabakooza after 75 years of service
Sister Nabakooza, aged 99, was a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix of Ggogonya and devoted 75 years of her life to religious service. She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee as a nun on January 4, 2026, during a Holy Mass led by the Archbishop of Kampala, Paul Ssemogerere.
Sister Angelica during her happy times displays the blessing from Pope Leo XIV after a Thanksgiving Mass on January 4, 2026. (Credit: Juliet Anna Lukwago)
The Catholic Church in Uganda is mourning the death of Sister Maria Angelica Nabakooza, affectionately known as "Afande", who died in the early hours of July 27, 2026, just two months before her 100th birthday.
Sister Nabakooza, aged 99, was a member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Reparatrix of Ggogonya and devoted 75 years of her life to religious service.
She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee as a nun on January 4, 2026, during a Holy Mass led by the Archbishop of Kampala, Paul Ssemogerere.
During the congregation's thanksgiving celebrations in January, Mother General Sister Dr Mary Speranza Namusisi described Sister Angelica as being mentally alert despite her advanced age.
Mourners described Sister Angelica as a cheerful and warm-hearted woman whose constant smile endeared her to many. They said she remained faithful to her religious vows of chastity, poverty and obedience throughout her life.
She will be laid to rest today, Wednesday (July 29), at the congregation's Mother House, Ggogonya Convent, in Kisubi along Entebbe Road in Wakiso district.
Only last month, she was among the dignitaries who attended the Kisubi Seminary Platinum Jubilee celebrations, where she remained throughout the day's programme.
Her interview with New Vision
In an interview with New Vision before her death, Sister Angelica recounted her life with remarkable clarity and warmth.
She said: "I was born in October 1926 in Mulema village, Kabuwoko Catholic Parish, which later became Lwagulwe Parish and now Kkindu Parish (new parish), in Masaka Diocese. My parents were Dominico Ssaka from the Ente clan and Bibiana Nantume from the Mboggo clan."
She added that: “I wanted to be a nun since I was a child. I loved to play wearing a veil. I was inspired by the nuns at the Catholic schools she attended to follow that route to become like them.”
Sister Angelica said she began her religious life at the Bugonga-Entebbe convent in 1951 after completing junior school. She later took her final vows at the age of 25.
Recalling the day she joined the convent, she said: “I moved into the convent in Bugonga-Entebbe. I remember the day I boarded the ferry at Bukakata-Masaka to Entebbe. I am eternally grateful to Fr Timothy Ssemwogerere, who helped me grow in my calling. The rest has been possible by God’s mercy. I have lived a stress-free life since 1951."
She also recalled: “By then I was young, about 12 years old, but I knew that this was my calling. I always wanted to become religious.”
Sister Angelica told New Vision that: “I stayed in the convent for 75 years as a religious sister; now my work is to welcome visitors to our home."
Sister Maria Angelica Nabakooza
Childhood
Sister Angelica said that when she was baptised, her father, Ssaka, wanted to name her Matilda, but her mother chose Bibiana, the name she used before entering religious life.
She explained that, following the congregation's practice of assigning new names to aspirants, the Superior Mother gave her the name Angelica, saying she would always remember her through another sister who bore the same name.
She said she was one of four children and grew up in Kabuwoko.
Reflecting on her vocation, Sister Angelica said: “When I look back, I had every good reason to be a religious sister, since my childhood I desired it. But I have come so far. Life has pulled me into a more natural setting to relate to people. I am so grateful for all these years."
Since moving to the convent in Bugonga-Entebbe, she never returned home.
A lifetime of service
Sister Angelica's first appointment was at Ggoli Parish in 1951, where she served for four years.
In 1954, she was transferred to Kisubi Hospital, where she spent another four years while also studying for a medical certificate in child care. She continued working there until 1986.
Between 1960 and 1962, she studied catering and women's counselling in Tanzania before returning to Uganda in 1963 to serve at the Brothers of St Theresa.
In 1965, she was transferred to Jinja Karoli Convent, where she served until 1969, before moving to Kisubi Seminary in 1970 for four years. She later returned to Ggoli Convent for two years.
She recalled that in 1971 she went to Nkozi for two and a half years before returning to Ggogonya in 1973, where she travelled widely teaching women.
In 1974, she was posted to Bugonga to teach and serve as a women's counsellor for two years. In 1976, she moved to St Theresa Primary School, Kisubi, where she worked as a tailor making school uniforms.
She returned to Ggogonya in 1978, where she cared for the convent, a role that earned her the nickname "Afande". During this period, she also trained women's groups in catering and handicrafts and joined the Kampala Archdiocese Central Organising Committee.
In 1982, she was transferred to Bukalamuli Convent in Kiyinda-Mityana Diocese to care for children. She recalled that war later forced them to relocate first to Kiyinda, then to Mwera in 1983, before eventually settling in Nsambya.
In 2001, she returned to Kisubi Seminary to oversee catering services for seminarians until 2008. She later returned to Ggogonya in 2010, where she remained until her death.