“The people are dedicated, they are devoted, and they make a lot of sacrifices for the love of Church and for the love of their Catholic faith,” Father Andama said. The challenge, however, is that “many people live apart, so we can't really get together regularly every Sunday.
“But at least once in a month they get together and the spirit of this community is growing so much,” he said.
Bridget Nadunga Gidudu is a Ugandan Catholic who moved to suburban Detroit three years ago. She immediately searched for other Ugandan Catholics she could connect with.
“I’ve been involved in our cultural communications through dancing and singing. It helps me not forget my culture and feel like I’m a part of it. It gives me a sense of belonging wherever I go,” Gidudu said.
Joachim Yawe, second from right, and his family pose with Archbishop Paul Ssemogerere of Kampala, Uganda, following a Martyrs Day celebration at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth, Michigan, in 2023.(Photo: Courtesy photo)
(Story continues below)
Inspired by the Martyrs
Perhaps the most important cultural and Catholic touchpoint for Ugandan Catholics in the U.S. is the celebration of the Uganda martyrs — 22 Catholic converts who were put to death in the 1880s by a tyrannical king for refusing to renounce their faith.
The martyrs’ official feast day is June 3, a celebration that draws millions of Ugandans and other Africans to the Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs Namugongo, just outside of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala.
In the U.S., Ugandan Catholics hold dedicated Masses at their respective parishes throughout June so they have the opportunity to bring in bishops and priests from their home country to celebrate Mass.
Gidudu’s community in Michigan will celebrate St. Charles Lwanga and his companions with Bishop Robert Muhiirwa of Uganda’s Fort Portal Diocese June 21. She said it is a yearly priority for her to celebrate the patronal feast.
“I’ve grown up knowing the value of how they sacrificed their lives for the faith of Catholicism. They are people who sacrificed their lives for a real cause,” Gidudu said. “There is integrity behind it when people can stand up for their faith, it means a lot.”
Father Nicholas Kiruma of the Archdiocese of Kampala has spent many years of his priesthood serving in both the U.S. and in Uganda. He pointed to the witness of St. Charles Lwanga and companions as an indication of the kind of vitality Bishop-elect Engurait, a former official in the Ugandan government, can bring to Houma-Thibodaux. He notes that the Ugandan martyrs all held positions as pages in the king’s palace, but knew there was something more important than worldly power and comfort.
“You see these young people giving up all that and looking at their encounter with Jesus as the better option. It’s amazing. I think if [Bishop-elect Engurait] really brings this kind of experience to America in the first place, and to the world, to his diocese, I think that will be very powerful,” the Kampala priest said.
Celebrating ‘Their’ Bishop
And now, Ugandan Catholics in America have something additional to look forward to: the installation of one of their own as the head of a U.S. diocese.
Gidudu learned about Father Engurait’s appointment as the next bishop of Houma-Thibodaux from other Ugandan Catholics in an active WhatsApp chat. She said the fact that he is being tapped to lead the diocese, even though he’s from a faraway land, shows that he must have gifts to offer.
“If someone [isn’t even from] here and the pope sees the worth in that someone, that is incredible,” Gidudu said.
Father Andama, who last spent time with Bishop-elect Engurait, during the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024, said his friend “is fit for the job” and has earned the trust of the Church.
“He's a very humble, spiritual and servant-oriented person,” said the Chicago priest. “He has a heart for people and he's a good listener.”
Father Kiruma said learning about Father Engurait’s episcopal appointment reminded him that while the U.S. is still a powerhouse of financial resources, continents like Africa and Asia are “the new core” in terms of faith and evangelization offerings.
“We tend to have more resources now in terms of human resource, people, priests, religious, who can do the work,” he told the Register.
Ugandan Catholics are known for traveling great lengths, sometimes even by foot, to Namugongo for Martyrs’ Day, an expression of both their faith and cultural pride. Now in the U.S., Catholics from the East African nation like Joachim Yawe are considering doing something similar for Father Engurait’s upcoming episcopal ordination in Houma-Thiboudaux.
“I was telling my wife, if we get to know the date he is going to be consecrated, let us see if we can be there,” said Yawe, who lives in Columbus, Ohio. “We get to know the date early enough, we hit the road to Louisiana.”
If the Yawe family makes the trip, they won’t be the only Ugandans in attendance. Bishop-elect Engurait shared at the June 5 news conference that members of his family are expected to come to Louisiana from east Africa for his episcopal ordination.
When Father Engurait broke the news to his mother and sisters that he had been named bishop, he said they “did the Ugandan thing” — ululating, which involves making a high-pitched, celebratory trilling noise. His mother did the same thing at his priestly ordination in 2013, and it made the headlines of the diocesan newspaper.
“And,” Bishop Ungarait said of his mother and sisters, “they say they are going to do it when they come.”
