The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
The life of Bishop James Odongo
✳ March 27, 1931 – BORN in Molo, Bukedi district
✳ May 8, 1931 – Baptized by Fr Willemen of Nagongera
✳ 1944 – Joined Nyenga Seminary
✳ 1956 – Ordained priest in Rome
✳ 1965 – Consecrated Bishop
✳ 1965 – Attends Second Vatican Council
✳ 1968 – Appointed Bishop of Tororo
✳ 1973 – Chairman AMECEA
✳ 1983 – Leads Uganda Episcopal delegation to make case for Centenary Bank
✳ 1985 – Named Uganda Military Ordinary
✳ 1999 – First Metropolitan Archbishop of Tororo ( Tororo, Jinja, Kotido, Moroti & Soroti)
✳ 2007 – Retired
✳ 2015 – Celebrated 84th birthday, 59 as priest. First indigenous Bishop to celebrate 50th.
✳ 2020 – DIED December 4, 2020
Tororo, Uganda | LOUIS JADWONG | When catechist Gabriel Omunyin first walked barefoot with his school-going twins James Odongo and Alfred Opio along the main murram road from Molo to Nyangole in 1941, he could not have imagined those first steps in Bukedi district would be part of a tale retold nearly a century later.
Omunyin was taking his young boys for ‘further education’ at Nyangole vernacular school 19kms away, laying the ground not only for the emergence of two priests 15 years later, but also a Bishop who will be remembered as one of the founding pillars of the Catholic Church, and the nation that Uganda is today.
Archbishop James Odongo, who lived 16 years longer than his twin brother Rev. Fr Opio, no doubt played a key role in the post-independence growth of the Catholic Church in Uganda, including the difficult days of President Idi Amin.
“Right from childhood, Odongo exhibited rare attributes and aptitude that phenomenally spurred him to greater heights and achivements,” remarked Uganda Episcopal Conference Secretary-General Msgr. John Baptist Kauta in a biography of the Archbishop he authored titled ‘Shepherd of a Multi-Cultural Mosaic‘.
Odongo was shepherd at Tororo Diocese for close to 50 years, having been ordained priest during British colonial rule. This was followed by the rule of the Democratic Party, Uganda’s People’s Congress, Idi Amin and the expulsion of the Mill Hill Missionaries, Yusuf Lule, Godfrey Binaisa, Paulo Muwanga’s Military Commission, Obote II, Tito Okello until Yoweri Museveni today.
Archbishop Emeritus of Tororo James Odongo,89, passed on in Kampala on December 4, and will be laid to rest at midday today at the Tororo Cathedral in Nyangole.
Who was James Odongo?
James Odongo was the fourth African Bishop in Uganda and the first African Bishop of Tororo Diocese. Before him were Bishops Joseph Kiwanuka, Adrian Ddungu and Cyprian Kihangire.
He was the first African chair of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), a position he held twice.
Odongo and his twin brother, the late Fr Alfred Opio, were born on March 27, 1931 in Molo village, 19km along the Tororo-Mbale road in then Bukedi district. His father Omunyin was a catechist of Nagongera Parish, while mother Rosalina Nyachwo was a farm worker.
He was ordained priest in Rome in 1956 and retired as Archbishop in 2007, having served as a priest for 51 years and, as a Bishop for 43 years, 39 of which he was Bishop of Tororo.
In 2015 he celebrated his 84th anniversary of his birth and the 59th anniversary of his momentous priestly ministry.
Bishop Odongo and the making of Tororo Archdiocese
Archbishop Emeritus James Odongo served as the First Metropolitan Archbishop of Tororo – after Tororo diocese received the status of an Archdiocese.
Odongo was ordained to the Priesthood in Rome on 22nd day of December, 1956. After serving as priest for a while, Fr. Odongo was elected to serve as Titular Bishop of Baana and Auxiliary Bishop of Tororo on November 25, 1964. The following year, he was consecrated Bishop on February 16, 1965. After three years, he was appointed on August 16, 1968 to serve as the first Native Bishop to his people.
In 1999, when Tororo diocese was raised to the status of an Archdiocese – thus serving as the mother diocese in the Eastern Ecclesiastical Province, he became the First Metropolitan Archbishop.
Archbishop James Odongo’s contribution and service to the growing Church in Tororo and Uganda in general marked him to be a uniquely wise and memorable cleric – who even got the wonderful privilege of participating in the last sessions of Vatican II Ecumenical Council.
Archbishop Odongo faithfully served the Eastern Ecclesiastical Province and in particular the diocese of Tororo until the 27th day of June 2007 when Pope Benedict XVI accepted his retirement request.
A brief history of the Archdioceses of Tororo
The Archdiocese of Tororo metamorphosed from the Upper Nile Vicariate instituted on July 13, 1894 by the Holy See and entrusted to the Mill Hill Missionaries.
Arriving in Tororo at the onset of the 20th Century, the Mill Hill Missionaries embarked on the establishment of religious, educational and health institutions in the then Vicariate of the Upper Nile, a territory stretching from Kampala, Uganda to Nakuru in Kenya.
The Congregation on the Mill Hill Fathers was headquartered at Freshfield, England and Nsambya became the seat of the Bishop of the Vicariate.
The following Bishops headed the Vicariate: Henry Hanlon 1894-1911, Bishop John Biermans 1912-1924 and Bishop John Campling 1925-1937
In 1948, Rome divided the Vicariate of the Upper Nile into Kampala and Tororo.
Bishop John Reesinck 1938-1950 became the first Vicar Apostolic of Tororo, thus relinquishing his title as Bishop of the Vicariate of the Upper Nile,.
In the same year, Reesinck relocated his residence from Nsambya to Tororo, the Bishop’s See.
He retired in 1951 and Bishop John Greif 1951-1968 was installed as the Bishop of the Tororo Vicariate.
Therefore, when the Diocese of Tororo was created on March 25, 1953 Bishop Greif, the second Bishop of Tororo Vicariate, became the first Bishop of Tororo Diocese.
He died on August 17, 1968 at the age of 70, after serving the people of Tororo for 46 years.
Upon the death of Bishop Greif, Bishop James Odongo became the second Bishop of the Diocese of Tororo, on August 19, 1968.
In 1999, he was appointed the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Tororo, overseeing the dioceses of Jinja, Kotido, Moroto and Soroti.
Rome had recognized the maturity of the Church in Tororo earlier, and in 1981 had divided it, creating Diocese of Soroti wih Bishop Erasmus Wandera. The original Tororo Diocese has been blessed with five of its clergy named bishops since – Odongo, Wandera, Denis Kiwanuka, Joseph Onyanga and Charles Wamika.
Archbishop Odongo’s impact on the Church and society
“Archbishop Odongo’s life, work and experiences and achievements were largely influenced by the Vatican Council II that instilled in him the urge for self-reliance and shaped his understanding of the priestly ministry and the lay apostolate as inseparable cogs in the Church’s machinery,” said Msgr. John Baptist Kauta.
Since the days he had to walk 19 kilometers to find a better education, he grew up to understand the importance in life of the ‘School of Hard Knocks’.
He promoted the fact the church ought to support the spiritual, social and material aspects of Christian lives.
The Second Vatican Council was a watershed in Odongo’s priestly ministry, as it laid the foundation to his principles of of self reliance, self-drive, self-propagation and the concept of multiculturalism.
Personal discipline and time management, are two personality traits that enable Odongo to live this long with hypertension and diabetes. He loved playing tennis as well.
Fr Deogracias Ekisa described Bishop Odongo as ” a no-nonsense man, a strict disciplinarian and a tough-talking man.
“Because of his no-nonsense approach, in eastern Uganda and beyond, Archbishop James Odongo fittingly earned the title Founder and Headmaster of The School of Hard knocks,” said Fr Ekisa.
He said his pursuit of perfection was not limited to things spiritual, but also included things material and behavioral. After all, he added, how was one to show one’s spiritual perfection if not in external acts smothered with discipline, diligence and orderliness.
Msgr. John Baptist Kauta recalls a time when a priest came to see the Archbishop at his office in Mbale riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Bishop Odongo ordered the priest to park the motorcycle there and only return to pick it up when he had a helmet.
Through his philosophy of self reliance, Archbishop Odongo worked to empower all with the archdiocese to reach their potential and live a life of Christian dignity.
The fruits of his hard work and his envisioning of a self-reliant and self-propagating Church are the so many religious, social, health and educational institutions that he founded across the Archdiocese of Tororo, writes Msgr. John Baptist Kauta.
He demanded excellence, which is difficult, but not impossible, but also realized that everyone had a role in whatever success the church was to get.
” I would like to state categorically that I was not acting alone during those years of growth of the Church in Tororo Archdiocese. I followed the saying of St Augustine, “Together with you, I am a Christian, but for you I am Bishop,” Odongo said.History of Centenary Bank
As chairperson of the social services committee of the Episcopal Conference of Uganda, a pivotal organ in the creation of Centenary Bank, Archbishop led a delegation to meet then President Milton Obote in 1983.
Obote remarked to him personally; “I know Catholics, when you want to start something, you cannot fail. Please go ahead and have the bank.” The rest is history.
According to a Biography of James Odongo, compiled by Msgr. John Baptist Kauta, Secretary of the Uganda Episcopal Conference titled “Shepherd of a multi-Cultural Mosaic’, the Bank was conceived to be a ‘monumento’ for the Catholics to celebrate 100 years of the religion in Uganda. It was primarily aimed at serving the rural communities, although it spread to urban areas.
The Chairperson of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, Bishop Joseph Antony Zziwa, who is the Bishop of Kiyinda Mityana Diocese. “We pay special tribute to the late Odongo for the growth and development of the Church since the Second Vatican Council which he attended personally” – Zziwa
“I wish to register thanks to God for the gift of life he gave Archbishop Odongo and chose him to serve in his vineyard. He struggled to help people fight poverty, promoted communion, cared for people and has indeed been a good shepherd” – Archdiocese of Kampala, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga
“Your participating in the different commissions of the episcopal conference went a long way to making Uganda what it is today. Among your remarkable achievements were your tireless efforts to ensure he proper establishment OF Centenary Bank, which today is one of the leading commercial banks kin the country. We great appreciate your wisdom and good stewardship” – John Baptist Odama, Archbishop of Gulu and outgoing chairman of Uganda episcopal conference.
” Now that he was the first African Ordinary of Tororo dioceses, he rose to the challenge. He made sterling efforts to make the Diocese become self sufficient, which he carried on until he retired” – Fr Bernard Phelan
BISHOP ODONGO’S FAMOUS QUOTES
ARCHBISHOP J.O: Education without God produces clever devils. ARCHBISHOP J.O: It has been a long and weary road; strength and courage sometimes failed, but there was no giving up. I drew from the following reflection: I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something; What I can do, I ought to do; and what I ought to do, I will do. **************** At the 50th anniversary of this priesthood in 2006 ARCHBISHOP J.O: Whenever I am interviewed, meeting people or in conversations, one of the common questions often asked is: “As an elder what legacy do you leave for the people of Tororo Archdiocese?” ARCHBISHOP J.O: Legacy refers to a situation that exists because of things that happened earlier. It is not easy to sum up the many past events of one’s life and anticipate a repeat. That would tantamount to assuming the role of a prophet who is able to tell the past and forecast the future.PICTORIAL – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ARCHBISHOP JAMES ODONGO
SOURCE: The Biography of Archbishop JAMES ODONGO – Shepherd of a Multi-Cultural Mosaic compiled by Msgr. John Baptist Kauta in 2015 (the biography can be found at St Paul’s bookshop, Kampala)
