Missionaries of Africa, Jinja

Etigu Kenneth, one of our editors, had an interview with Fr. Arsène Kapya . The interview aims at having a good knowledge of him. Etigu: Fr. Arsène would you introduce yourself to our readers? Fr. Ars è ne : At times it can seem easier to speak of others than of oneself… But I will try to say something about myself. I was born in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. I come from a Christian (Catholic) family. I am a twin, and my twin brother (Rigobert) is a Jesuit priest.   I started my missionary formation at La Ruzizi, (our formation house in Bukavu, in the Eastern part of the DRC), where I spent 3 years. I went to Kasama (Zambia) for my spiritual year. Then I was sent to Nyakato parish, Mwanza Archdiocese (Tanzania) for my two year pastoral experience. After my stage, I went to Toulouse for Theology. It is there that I took my missionary oath on the 9 th of December 1995 and became a missionary of Africa. ...

The Christian faith was planted in our lands many years ago; "mustard seed" has become a tree with multitude of branches and leaves. It is a great thrill to see that many have heeded the plea to pool their wisdom of God by serving one another. We must constantly bear in mind that our faith started in storytelling. "In the past God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, but in these last days, he spoke to us through his son (Heb 1:1-2). Beloved writers and readers, the big question that we ought to ask ourselves is that, how are we ourselves empowering our own lives and the lives of others? Solomon in the old testament asked for wisdom from the Lord, what are you as an individual asking of Him today? We are the branches that should bear fruits, what type of fruit are you?. In this regard, all who have contributed an article to the Lavigerie Drum are the visible fruits that we are going to enjoy. Dear readers, feel empowered as you enj...

We, the PCJ community, were delighted upon completing the Academic year 2014/2015. Simply, it was a successful learning period and a remarkable scholarly achievement for the 3 rd year students. It’s on the closing day, the 8 th of June 2015 that we summed up all this joy of successful conclusion of the academic year with prayer, social interaction and sharing a meal.   Bichop Charles Wamika during the offertory Charles Wamika, the Bishop of Jinja Diocese, celebrated the Eucharist in his inspirational sharing he remarked that completing this academic struggle is a step to be of support to the entire community so let us find ways on how we are to be of value to the people beyond our demarcated boundaries with the aid of the knowledge acquired in the 3 years of study and formation. He also mentioned that wisdom is beyond philosophy and all the academic study we acquire in lectures but reach to practical works such as cooking (words not direct quotes).  After t...

During the last month we were blessed by the family visitation of four of our candidates.  From left: Gabriel, Simplicius, Ian, Joseph, Electine (Peter's mother), Peter, Teddy and Brian From left (standing): Sr. Jemima, Eunice, Fred, Catherine, Eric, Magret, Emmanuel, Nicholas and Sarah. From left (seated): Kenneth and Cecilia From left (standing): Fred, Sr. Jemima, Gabriel, Sr. Catherine, Margaret, Catherine, Eric (behind), Emmanuel (front),  Ian and Peter. Squoting: Kenneth and Simplicious. From Left: Catherine (Ian's mother) and Margaret (Simplicious''s mother) From left: Sr. Helen, Nicholas, Maria (Nicholas's mother), and Michael

U ganda is such a beautiful country with a beautiful history of the beginning of the Catholic Church. It is a country from which the natives easily embraced Christianity. They consecrated and dedicated their lives to discipleship; to following of the Christ. Easter Monday became a second opportunity for me to go and bend low in this Holy shrine, the root of the Catholic Church in my country and it was the first opportunity for some of my brothers.  Fr. Peter Reilly guiding the group We were being guided by Fr. Peter Reilly M.Afr. a man of wide experience in Uganda. Their story animates our own story as Christians walking the same way of faith and as disciples responding to God’s question; whom shall I send? What touched me from Peter’s sharing about the Uganda Martyrs was their way of life, it was a journey that made their Catholic faith a story of wonder in history; the way they lived is what matters, death was simply the consequence of...