After 32 years, St. Mbaaga proves sceptics wrong
Jun 29, 2008
ON June 4, Christians and the clergy converged at St. Mbaaga’s Major Seminary Gaba to celebrate its 32 years of existence. At the same function, eight of the institution’s pioneer students celebrated their silver jubilee in priesthood.
By Mathias Mazinga
ON June 4, Christians and the clergy converged at St. Mbaaga’s Major Seminary Gaba to celebrate its 32 years of existence. At the same function, eight of the institution’s pioneer students celebrated their silver jubilee in priesthood.
Unlike other seminaries, St. Mbaaga, which opened on February 16, 1976, welcomes students from secular primary and secondary schools.
Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga (RIP) started the seminary after realising that there were many young men who wanted to become priests, but lacked the necessary qualifications for entry into national seminaries.
According to Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa, the seminary’s pioneer rector, the move was received with mixed feelings.
While Rome welcomed the idea, some Christians doubted its effectiveness, saying the institution would train “second-class†priests.
However, despite the criticism, Nsubuga opened the seminary with 17 students.
The seminary started under difficult circumstances, as Bishop Kaggwa recalls: “Commodities were scarce and we depended on hand-outs from people of good will.â€
But amid the difficulties, which were worsened by the guerrilla war of the 1980s, the pioneer students did not give up their calling. In 1983, nine of them were awarded diplomas and degrees in Philosophy and Theology by the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, to which the seminary is affiliated.
Over the years, the first nine alumni of the seminary have proved wrong the fears of some Christians about the quality of the institution, as Dr. Cyprian Lwanga, the archbishop of Kampala, testifies: “I have worked closely with the Rt. Rev. Bishop Christopher Kakooza and Msgr. Paul Ssemwogerere (Bishop-elect Kasana-Luweero Dioces) and in them I have seen priests who are faithful and committed to their ministry.â€
Three decades after its establishment, St. Mbaaga’s Seminary has extended its boundaries across borders. It trains students from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan.
The Vice- President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, urged the seminary alumni to form a strong network to spearhead the institution’s development and that of the country.
Ssemwogerere, on behalf of other pioneer students, paid tribute to Cardinal Nsubuga and his predecessors for their spiritual, moral and material support, to which he attributed their success.
He promised that they will work with renewed zeal for the development of the church and the state.
At the same function, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paul Tschang, awarded diplomas and degrees to students who completed their studies in the 2007/8 academic year.
ON June 4, Christians and the clergy converged at St. Mbaaga’s Major Seminary Gaba to celebrate its 32 years of existence. At the same function, eight of the institution’s pioneer students celebrated their silver jubilee in priesthood.
Unlike other seminaries, St. Mbaaga, which opened on February 16, 1976, welcomes students from secular primary and secondary schools.
Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga (RIP) started the seminary after realising that there were many young men who wanted to become priests, but lacked the necessary qualifications for entry into national seminaries.
According to Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa, the seminary’s pioneer rector, the move was received with mixed feelings.
While Rome welcomed the idea, some Christians doubted its effectiveness, saying the institution would train “second-class†priests.
However, despite the criticism, Nsubuga opened the seminary with 17 students.
The seminary started under difficult circumstances, as Bishop Kaggwa recalls: “Commodities were scarce and we depended on hand-outs from people of good will.â€
But amid the difficulties, which were worsened by the guerrilla war of the 1980s, the pioneer students did not give up their calling. In 1983, nine of them were awarded diplomas and degrees in Philosophy and Theology by the Pontifical Urban University, Rome, to which the seminary is affiliated.
Over the years, the first nine alumni of the seminary have proved wrong the fears of some Christians about the quality of the institution, as Dr. Cyprian Lwanga, the archbishop of Kampala, testifies: “I have worked closely with the Rt. Rev. Bishop Christopher Kakooza and Msgr. Paul Ssemwogerere (Bishop-elect Kasana-Luweero Dioces) and in them I have seen priests who are faithful and committed to their ministry.â€
Three decades after its establishment, St. Mbaaga’s Seminary has extended its boundaries across borders. It trains students from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan.
The Vice- President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, urged the seminary alumni to form a strong network to spearhead the institution’s development and that of the country.
Ssemwogerere, on behalf of other pioneer students, paid tribute to Cardinal Nsubuga and his predecessors for their spiritual, moral and material support, to which he attributed their success.
He promised that they will work with renewed zeal for the development of the church and the state.
At the same function, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Paul Tschang, awarded diplomas and degrees to students who completed their studies in the 2007/8 academic year.