Catholic Church commemorates centenary of Archbishop Livinhac’s death

The year-long celebrations of the centenary of the death of Archbishop Leon Livinhac climaxed with a grand pilgrimage of faith at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Mapeera-Nabulagala on November 11 (2022).

Hundreds of Catholic pilgrims attended the day-long function, which was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Uganda, HE Archbishop Luigi Bianco.      

  A good number of confreres of the    Catholic Missionary Society of the white fathers graced the function.

A spectacle of the White Fathers in procession for the thanksgiving mass of the 100th anniversary of Archbishop Leon Livnhac at Mapeera Nabulagala Catholic Church on November 11, 2022.

Archbishop Leon Livinhac, who belonged to the Catholic Missionary Society of the White Fathers (Missionaries of Africa) holds a prominent position in the history of the Catholic Church in Uganda.

He was the leader of the first group of pioneer missionaries of the Society of the White Fathers, who introduced the Catholic faith in Uganda in 1879. Archbishop Livinhac celebrated the first-ever Catholic Mass in Uganda at Nabulagala on June 25, 1879.

Still, it was Livinhac who baptized the first Ugandan catechumens. He was also the first Bishop of Uganda. Livinhac is considered the father of the Catholic Church in Uganda which is why he is highly regarded.

Archbishop Luigi Bianco in procession for the thanksgiving mass of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Archbishop Leon Livinhac at Mapeera-Nabulagala Catholic Church on November 11, 2022

During the function, Archbishop Luigi Banco officially blessed and opened the museum of the Catholic Church, which was named after Archbishop Leon Livinhac. Christians also raised money for purchasing land on which the big museum in memory of Archbishop Livinhac will be built.

Archbishop Luigi Bianco cuts a tape to officially open the newly constructed memorial museum of Archbishop Leon Livinhac at Mapeera-Nabulagala Catholic Church.