“Despite all the difficulties encountered, the young and energetic men of God were ordained priests in the Salesian congregation in Uganda, 2022”.
Dear beloved people of God, brothers and sisters, it was on Saturday 6th/08/2022 around 10:00 am, a great day on which three Salesian deacons namely. Dn. Joseph Musagala, Dn. Paul Kato and Dn. Jonathan Ayaku were ordained priests by His Grace Rt. Rev. Paul Ssemogerere, the Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kampala. A very important and lively procession was animated by the brass-band, altar servers and some fifty clergymen.
In his sermon, His Grace Rt. Rev. Paul Ssemogerere thanked the Almighty God and the parents for the gift of the three deacons. And at the same time, he extended his thanks to the provincial of AGL for the presence of the Salesian congregation and the work that is being executed tirelessly in Bombo and the entire Uganda for the service of youth. He noticed the gift of various languages which are learnt during the formation of a Salesian; therefore, they are able to move to different places with ease. One of these deacons, is a son to a soldier, the archbishop claimed; therefore, it is a gift for us and to the entire church at large that a soldier has contributed to the church in a way that he accepted his child to join the vocation and now, he is a deacon and in a few moments he will be ordained a priest.
The life we are living today is a transformation to the next generation i.e. the young men and women with the zeal, love and hope for vocations. Therefore, we should take the examples of these deacons, who sacrifice their lives to serve God in a priestly way so that we may gain confidence amidst trials and temptations.
The Provincial, Fr Pierre-Célestin Ngoboka, in his speech reminded the newly ordained priests to be happy Salesians in their mission wherever they will be. He also informed the congregation about their appointments : Fr. Joseph Musagala will serve in Kamuli community, while Fr. Paul Kato will join Buterere community (Burundi) and Fr. Jonathan Ayaku will assist in Namugongo community.
Many congratulations to the new priests as they have accepted without any constraint to sacrifice their comfort and convenience quite a lot of times so that others can be comfortable just like a shepherd will do. May they constantly receive support from Mary Help of Christians and Don Bosco, as they serve in Christ’s vineyard.
Br. Laurent