His Grace Paul Ssemogerere has officially become the new Archbishop of Kampala, replacing the late Archbishop Kizito Lwanga who died last year.
The installation ceremony for the new Archbishop took place at Lubaga Cathedral on Tuesday morning and was attended by several Bishops, priests, and other religious leaders as well as Christians and leaders of other denominations.
The installation ceremony began with the Chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese Rev. Fr. Puis Male, reading out the Papal letter to this effect in Latin and later translated to English and Luganda, sending the fully packed cathedral into applause and singing with joy.
Pope Francis in his letter wrote that after his consultations with the congregation, he was convinced that Ssemogerere was ready for the new role having gathered spiritual and human competence, which he can use to enrich the spiritual and physical needs of the Kampala archdiocese.
The Papal Nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop Luigi Bianco led Dr. Ssemogerere to the Bishop’s throne and presented him with a Mitre (special headgear) and stuff that Pope John Paul VI used during his first visit to Uganda and Africa at large.
After this ritualistic event, Ssemogerere delivered a brief speech accepting the new role assigned to him by his venerable brother, Pope Francis. "It fills me with deep gratitude and joy. I am humbled to be assigned to lead this great Archdiocese of Kampala," he said sending the congregation into jubilation as several people congratulated him.
The event was also attended by representatives from the central government led by the Vice president, Jessica Alupo, Buganda Kingdom led by the Katikiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga and Prince Wassajja, Religious heads, the Clergy, and lay Christians among others.
The new Archbishop led his first eucharist mass as the ordinary of Kampala Archdiocese joining a special list of three others including Emmanuel Cardinal Kiwanuka Nsubuga: (1966 - 1990), Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala (1990 - 2006), and Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (2006 - 2021).
Pope Francis named Bishop Paul Ssemogerere as the new Archbishop of Kampala Metropolitan Archdiocese on December 9, 2021. Until that day, the designated Episcopate was the Bishop of Kasana- Luwero diocese.
Ssemogerere was born on June 30, 1956, at Kisubi, in the present-day Wakiso District. He attended Kigero Primary School before transferring to Kisubi Boys Primary School. He later joined St. Maria Goretti Senior Secondary School Katende, where he completed his ordinary level studies.
In 1976, Ssemogerere and seven other young men became pioneer students of St. Mbaaga Seminary at Ggaba. This was the pioneer class of this seminary, which specializes in training men as priests when they are older and without having attended a minor seminary.
In 1978, the late Cardinal Emmanuel Kiwanuka Nsubuga sent Ssemogerere to the Saint Francis de Sales Seminary, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States, where he graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 1982. On November 21, 1981, he was ordained deacon by Archbishop Rembert George Weakland, the Archbishop of Milwaukee.
On Martyrs’ Day, 1983, Ssemogerere was ordained a priest and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Kampala. His episcopal journey began on June 4, 2008, when he was elected Bishop of Kasana-Luwero, replacing Dr. Kizito Lwanga who had been elevated to Archbishop of Kampala two years earlier.
