The second deputy Katikkiro of Buganda, Robert Wagwa Nsibirwa has expressed support for the burning desire by the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi (LSOSF) to have their foundress, Mother Kevin Mary Kearney beatified and canonized as a saint, arguing that Buganda was the core for the spread of religion in the country.
This was contained in his message he delivered at a function to mark the 67th anniversary of the death of Mother Kevin and to pray for her beatification and canonization as a saint, held on Saturday at the congregation’s headquarters located at Nkokonjeru in Buikwe district. Nsibirwa had stood in for the Katikkiro of Buganda, Charles Peter Mayiga who is in leave and on vacation outside the country.
Born on April 28, 1875, Mother Mary Kevin Kearney arrived in Uganda in 1903 and began charitable work by building hospitals, schools and centres for uplifting the girl child. A member of the Franciscan Sisters, Mother Kevin is the foundress of the congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Francis which is currently carrying on her legacy in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Nsibirwa said Buganda joins the Catholic fraternity in the prayer for the beatification and canonization of Mother Kevin because of her work to change people’s spirituality, lifestyle and for the lifelong legacy she left especially in the education and health sectors.
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“When Mother Kevin came to Uganda, she found that missionary work had already been established in Buganda by the Mill Hill Fathers, and it is the reason that like other missionaries, she based in Buganda to expand her work elsewhere, and as such, Buganda and Mother Kevin are inseparable’, his statement read in part.
He pointed out that although Mother Kevin had no formal training in leadership, she learned from the Lord who provided her with guidance; this is what enabled her to accomplish such immense tasks in a place she had not known before.
Nsibirwa added that when she died in Boston in 1957, the Irish government was not readily willing to return her remains to Uganda as she had prayed before her death, but that the late Buganda King, Muteesa II directed his subjects to mobilise funds for costs to return her body for burial here.
He congratulated the Little Sisters for having clocked 101 serving the Kabaka’s subjects, noting that not many institutions have travelled this journey with an indelible mark made on the face of the world.
Nsibirwa also delivered the Buganda Kingdom’s contribution of sh2.5m to the construction of a centenary house at Nkokonjeru.
The main celebrant, the Episcopal Vicar for Religious in Lugazi Diocese, Rev. Fr. John Chrysostom Maviiri noted that Mother Kevin met with success in her endeavours because she began her tasks with trust in God, and advised humankind to follow in her footsteps in order to register success in whatever they do.
Fr. Maviiri equated her to the biblical Joshua who was tasked by God to continue the work of delivering the Israelites to the promised land after death of Moses, saying that because of the trust he had in God, he did his work courageously.
He implored believers to always follow God’s direction in their tasks because he added, God cannot look on as they are faced with threats of failure.
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“Do your job as assigned to you by God, do not bother others to do it for you because if you have trust in Him, you are certain to succeed,” he advised.
The head of the office heading the campaign for Mother Kevin’s beatification and canonization, Rev. Fr. Edward Ssekabanja reported that this noble duty has already been embarked on, with relevant documentation already forwarded to Rome.
Elaborating, Fr. Ssekabanja said, “on 27th July 2019, Dr. Waldley Hiderman was nominated as petitioner of the cause, while I became the local co-ordinator and overseer of the fiscal and financial patrimony of the cause; everything was done in compliance with the law and Rome recognised everything we did.”
He prayed that the Pontiff gives everything a go-ahead, adding however that the major requirement at this stage is financial support. He suggested intensification of pilgrimages to Nkokonjeru, in addition to prayers by faithful.
And the Mother Superior for the Little Sisters of St. Francis, Rita Christine Nakitende told Kyaggwe TV that their congregation is operational in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with Uganda enjoying the majority of membership since the movement began here. Sr. Nakitende said the congregation has an 801-strong membership in the region.
In an interview, the area member of parliament Dr. Michael Lulume Bayiga hailed Mother Kevin as a heroine who dared to travel to Africa, hitherto known as the dark continent, and managed to execute many heroic deeds down to the remotest villages.
He singled out enabling the girl child to come to the fore front in education and in other sectors, building hospitals and schools, and out of love, decided to be laid to rest in Africa and in Uganda in particular.
