September 23, 2009 // Local

Ugandan cathedral roof funded in part by overseas mission endowment

Bishop John M. D’Arcy presents a check to Bishop Robert Mihiirwa of Fort Portal, Uganda, at the Fort Wayne chancery Sept. 15. A portion of funds from the Zeiger endowment was used to pay for costs of the roof construction to the Vikara Cathedral in Fort Portal. Part of the Zeiger endowment is utilized for overseas mission activity.

Bishop John M. D’Arcy presents a check to Bishop Robert Mihiirwa of Fort Portal, Uganda, at the Fort Wayne chancery Sept. 15. A portion of funds from the Zeiger endowment was used to pay for costs of the roof construction to the Vikara Cathedral in Fort Portal. Part of the Zeiger endowment is utilized for overseas mission activity.

By Tim Johnson

FORT WAYNE — Bishop Robert Mihiirwa of Fort Portal, Uganda, may shepherd his diocese half a world away, but he is very familiar with the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

As Father Mihiirwa, he has made the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend his mission and served at St. Jude, Fort Wayne, St. Jude, South Bend, and St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend when he was a graduate student of theology at the University of Notre Dame and during the summers when he was a graduate student at Duquense University in Pittsburgh, Pa. As Bishop Mihiirwa, he continues to send mission priests to serve in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

On Sept. 15, Bishop Mihiirwa met with Bishop John M. D’Arcy, who presented to the Ugandan bishop a final check to cover a portion of construction costs of the Fort Portal Virika Cathedral roof.

A large portion of the $34,000 total donation came from the Zeiger endowment fund, established by a St. Dominic, Bremen, couple who left some money in their estate for the bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to distribute to foreign mission overseas.

“Of course, we’re the mission now, and he’s the missionary,” Bishop D’Arcy noted. “Things have changed. He’s sending us priests.”

Bishop Mihiirwa has sent Father Benedict Kakwezi, who currently serves at St. Mary of the Assumption in Decatur and Father Thadeus Balinda who is the pastor at St. Mary of the Lake, Culver, and the chaplain at Culver Academy.

The Zeiger endowment committee that awards the money consists of the St. Dominic pastor, Father Polycarp Fernando; Bremen attorney Mark Wagner; Joe Ryan, the diocesan chief financial officer; and Bishop D’Arcy. The committee scrutinizes any monetary requests for over $1,000. From the Zeiger fund, a sum was also recently given to Archbishop Michael Blume, papal nuncio of Benin and Togo and a native of Our Lady of Hungary Parish, South Bend.

This cathedral in Fort Portal has its origins with Holy Cross Father Vincent Joseph McCauley, who became the first bishop of the diocese. Father McCauley is from the Indiana Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross and his case for canonization has been introduced making him a Servant of God. He is “very revered in Uganda,” Bishop D’Arcy said.

Bishop Mihiirwa noted Father McCauley served as bishop and as the general secretary for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) for 10 years.
“He was the first Holy Cross who came to East Africa,” noted Bishop Mihiirwa, “and he was the first bishop of the Fort Portal Diocese. He came in 1958 and in 1961was appointed by the Holy Father to be the first bishop of Fort Portal.”

At the check presentation, Bishop Mihiirwa presented a photo of the Virika Cathedral, which will be displayed in the Archbishop Noll Catholic Center.

* * *

The best news. Delivered to your inbox.

Subscribe to our mailing list today.