At its creation in 1997, Lugazi Diocese had eighteen parishes. Most of these were constructed by the Mill Hill missionaries. Bishop Hanlon, and his first group of Mill Hill Missionaries reached Uganda in 1895. From 1997 to 2023, Lugazi Diocese has opened 14 new parishes .The diocese also has one Marian Shrine, (Mary Mother of Devine Grace) Ssonde established in 2022.
Lugazi Diocese boarders with Wakiso district of Kampala Archdiocese to the West, Jinja District (Jinja Diocese) separated by the River Nile to the East, Lake Kyoga to the North, Luweero District to the North West, Kamuli District to the North East and Lake Victoria to the South. It is currently made up of 33 parishes.
The diocese has a population of about 1.500.000 people, of whom 42% are Catholics, 39% are protestants, 18% are Muslims, and 1% are of other beliefs. It is a multi-ethnic population, but with the Baganda as the major and indigenous tribe. Approximately 85% of the population is rural based peasant farmers. The major crops grown are; bananas, the major staple food; and coffee, the major commercial crop.
St. Mary’s Parish, Ntunda on 08/09/ 1997; St. Paul’s Parish, Mukono in 1997; Stella Maris Parish, Kiyindi on 25/09/ 2011; St. Charles Lwanga Parish, Kyabakadde on 31/08/ 2014 St. Augustine of Hippo Seeta Parish opened on10/09/2017; St. Balikuddembe Kiwanga Parish opened on 18/08/2018; St. Denis Ssebuggwawo Naminya opened on 01/09/2018; Our Lady of the Sea Koome Parish opened on 14/04/2019; St. Jude Busaana Parish opened on 03/05/2019; St. Andrew Kaggwa Kichwa – Mpoma Parish opened on 10/02/2021; St. Kizito Namasumbi Parish opened on 25/12/2021; St. Francis De Sales Kalagala Parish opened in 2022, and St. Charles Lwanga Buguju Parish opened on 22/12/2022. St. Anthony of Padua Kasangalabi Parish opened on 09/10/2023
The strong foundation on which Lugazi Diocese is built are four major
The First pillar is Pastoral:
The main reason why the diocese was established was to bring Christ nearer to the people. To achieve this, the major stress since the inauguration of the diocese was on strengthening people’s faith and making them feel like one in Christ. To some extent this has been achieved due to the following reasons;There has been an increase in the number of Christians who are committed to their faith, and this is manifested in the swelling numbers of churchgoers and an increase in the number of those who receive sacraments. However, there are still many pastoral challenges in the life of Christians; For example:
There are still few families that say together family prayers in the morning and the evening.
Secondly, several Christians still practice witchcraft especially when they are confronted by problems such as sickness, poverty, failure to get jobs, and challenges in relationships.
Another problem is the practice of illegal marriages and polygamy. Expensive marriages, which is the mode of the day, is leaving many people in illegal relationships. With such family backgrounds, the formation of children into strong convinced Catholics remains a big challenge.
The Second Pillar, holding the Diocese, is Education.
Lugazi Diocese is proud to have some of the best schools in Uganda.
At the Primary level, the diocese has 205 church-founded primary schools. Among these are some of the country’s best performing schools, namely;
St. Theresa Girls Boarding Primary School, Namagunga,
Namilyango Junior Boys,
St. Theresa Girls Boarding Primary School, Namilyango,
St. Agnes Girls Boarding Primary School, Naggalama, and Stella Maris Girls Boarding Primary School, Nsuube.
At the Secondary Level, the diocese has 25 Church founded Secondary Schools:
Among these are some of the top schools in the country, namely:
Namilyango College, which is the first secondary school in Uganda; founded in 1902,
Mt. St. Mary’s College, Namagunga is ranked the best school in the country; it was founded in 1942;
Then there is St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School, Naggalama which was founded in 1967.
The diocese is also proud to have St. Joseph’s Nyenga Minor Seminary for the formation of future priests. It was founded by the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1924.
To address the issue of practical skills, the diocese has 2 technical vocational institutes namely;
St. Charles Lwanga Technical Institute Malongwe, which is sponsored by Caritas Prague and St. Denis Vocational Institute Bukeerere.
The diocese has also one teacher training school called Sancta Maria Primary Training College, Nkokonjeru.
Lugazi Diocese has four (4) hospitals and nine (9) lower-level health units. It also has one Enrolled Nurses Training School at Nyenga.
The four hospitals offer specialized services which include the following:
All these hospitals are private not for profit making. They offer both general and some specialized medical services.
Health services are not confined to hospitals. There are also lower Health units at:
– Kasawo: with a Health Centre – Level II
– Kavule: in Nkokonjeru Parish with a Health Centre Level II
– St. Francis Health Care Services Njeru: with a Health centre Level III
– Kangulumira: with a Health Centre Level II
– Bukeerere: with Health Centre Level II
– Mirembe Maria Kisoga: with Health Unit II
– Namagabi: inKayunga Parish: with Health Centre Level II
– Nazigo: with Health Centre Level II
– Ttakajjunge: in St. Paul Parish Mukono: with Health Centre Level III
Through Caritas, the Diocese has done a lot to improve the living standards of its people. It has had sensitization programs and actual material help intended to eradicate poverty and improve household incomes. Caritas has helped people:
The department has given out cows, pigs, chicken and other incentives to improve the lives of people in the Diocese.
Dean: Rev. Fr. Kivumbi Ignatius
Headquarters: Namilyango Parish
Dean: Rev. Fr. Walakira Emmanuel
Headquarters: Kayunga Parish
Dean: Rev. Fr. Ndawula Ignatius
Headquarters: Naggalama Parish
Dean: Rev. Fr. Ssebitoogo Paul
Headquarters: St. Paul Mukono Parish
Dean: Rev. Fr. Sserwadda John Chrysostom
Headquarters: Namagunga Parish
Dean: Rev. Fr. Maviiri John Chrysostom
Headquarters: Nkokonjeru Parish
Although the area was traditionally considered a relatively rich region, it has only witnessed a progressive improvement of its population in the recent past due to the establishment of some industries in the region. The major industries include: animal feeds, brewing, coffee processing, crafts, electronics, foam manufacture, food processing, grain milling, metal fabrication, sawmilling, sugar processing, tea processing, textile and wood processing.
Approximately 85% of the population is rural based peasant farmers. The urban areas are mainly Mukono/Seeta, Lugazi, Njeru and Kayunga. Most families are peasants, with a few poor small coffee plantations that survived the coffee wilt disease leading to poor harvest of the otherwise cash crop. This has dramatically reduced the family income.
In the recent past, there had been an increase in the growing of the vanilla crop but this was also affected by the fluctuating world market prices and almost all the plantations were abandoned.
The banana wilt disease also destroyed the bananas that were the main food crop. All this greatly increased poverty among the people due to a great decrease in both food and cash crop production.
Some of the crops grown include: bananas, cassava, beans, cocoa, coffee, cowpeas, finger millet, fruits, groundnuts, maize, pigeon peas, sim sim, sorghum, soya beans, sugarcanes, sweet potatoes, tea, yams, vegetables, pineapples. The mineral resources available include: clay, sand, granite/gneiss and kaolin.
The majority of the people live below the poverty line with limited or no access to food, good shelter and health care. Thus such families are unable to feed their children and cannot afford basic amenities like clothing and school fees. The standard of education is quite low, for many cannot afford to pay for good education of their children.
The other economic activities taking place in the diocese is fishing around Lake Victoria in Mukono, Buvuma Districts and around Lake Kyoga in Kayunga District. Besides, there are a good number of trading centers where local people run some small business enterprises such as; petty trade, agro-processing, weaving, brick-making, charcoal burning, carpentry, mechanics, hospitality (restaurant, bars), beauty industry (e.g. saloons), consultancy and husbandry of small livestock like goats, pigs, and poultry.
There is a very small cattle population in the diocese mainly because of tsetse fly infection. The methods used in subsistence farming are basically still traditional and continue to result into poor production and environmental degradation.
The fishing methods are also still very primitive. The area is generally fertile but due to poor means of cultivating, it is underutilized by the majority of the people who are too poor materially and intellectually to make proper use of it. The diocese has undoubtedly done much to provide skills in social and health affairs to the people it is serving especially through the caritas department.
More emphasis has been put on construction of more basic structures but at the same time sensitizing the people through seminars and workshops about their responsibility and participation in the life of the church.
