Roman Catholic Diocese of Soroti

Diocese of Soroti Dioecesis Sorotiensis
Location
Country	Uganda
Metropolitan	Tororo
Statistics
Area	12,920 km² (4,990 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,373,000 887,000 (64.6%)
Information
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Sede vacante

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Soroti (Latin: Sorotien(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Soroti in the Ecclesiastical province of Tororo in Uganda.

The current bishop of Soroti was promoted to archbishop of an Archdiocese and named Apostolic Administrator of his former Diocese, Soroti, until his successor there is named.

1.1 The local Community of Teso and their primordial encounter with Christianity

Father Christopher Kirk was the first Mill Hill Father to visit Teso in 1903 after being told about Ngora on one of his pastoral journeys among the Bakedi, from Budaka to ‘Ngola’ (Ngora). However he was advised by the chiefs against going as far as beyond the prescribed boundaries because of some anticipated unfriendliness. He therefore did not stay for long in Ngora but entrusted all that he had started into the hands of a catechist (Xavier F., Okello, The beginnings of Evangelization in Eastern Uganda-1895-1924: An Effort undertaken by the Mill Hill Missionaries of St Joseph Society, London- The Mill Hill Missionaries, doctoral dissertation, Roma 2007, p. 152-153).

"These people, Father Kirk found to have built their villages in the form of a circle, surrounded by trees. The huts were all cone-shaped and inside them was simply the bare earthen floor, ‘no native beds, no native mats, no dried grass spread out on the earthen floor. The people were friendly and Father Kirk was helped by a Musoga boy who knew their language. They said they knew nothing of praying, thus Father Kirk was merely wasting time according to them. He however got some people together and tried to tell them a little about their Creator" (Cf., Okello,).

1.2. Laying of the strong foundation for Catholicism in Teso

‘When Bishop Hanlon with Father Kirk visited Ngora in 1909, they met the catechist but no catechumen. They found very few people although they were aware of bishop’s visit. And according to the African historian Robert O’Neil, there were also "millions of mosquitoes" (Robert O’Neil, Mission to the Upper Nile, Mission Book Service: London 1999, p. 85). Bishop Hanlon told Father Kirk to work up Ngora catechumenate with a good catechist but look for another site. He could not yet send a permanent priest to such a place.

The following passage is worth quoting directly; "Fr. Kirk had established a catechumenate at Ngora in 1908 which remained only a temporary site until 1912 with Dunne in charge and Father Morris as assistant. No permanent buildings had been erected and Fr. Mathews on visiting the site found two priests ‘living there in the most primitive wattle and daub construction you can imagine’. It was decided to transfer them to Budaka and let two more experienced men, Father Kirk and Father Drontman takeover for a time. Sometime later Father Kiggen who was assistant at Budini was sent to Ngora to get the foundation going. He arrived there on 12 March 1912, and showed great enterprise encouraging the use of plough among the Teso, teaching them to use the yoke and was the first to undertake the burning of bricks" (Tom Tuma, Phares Mutibwa, A Century of Christianity in Uganda ; 1877-1975: Nairobi, Uzima Ltd.,1978, p. 54). Fr. Kiggen has remained engraved in the minds of the Iteso. He is remembered for introducing the plough and burning of bricks to Teso and he wrote the first dictionary of Ateso. There is a secondary school which has even been erected in his honor; Fr. John Kiggen Memorial School. The School is well known for good upbringing, discipline and sports especially volleyball. The school has been nurtured by Fr Lawrence Larry Akepa every enthusiastic and 'no-nonsense' priest, formally Rector of St Peter's Minor Seminary Madera.

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