Pope Francis is the third pontiff she is singing for

To sing for the Pope in any one’s lifetime would be a great honour. To be chosen twice is a privilege. At 63, Jane Irumba Abwooli, struggles to find the words to describe what this means. She is part of the choir that will sing for Pope Francis today.

“It is simply the will of God,” she says emotionally in a soft voice, at Our Lady of Africa Church, Mbuya. Though some memories are fading, Irumba still recalls the joy that enveloped her (she was 17 at the time and in Senior Three) the first time she sang for Pope Paul VI in 1969. She was a student at Mt St Mary’s College Namagunga.

“I had been part of the school choir from the day I joined Namagunga,” she says, “But being in the choir did not guarantee seeing the Pope, there had to be selections. I do not recall the details of the exercise, but the joy was simply indescribable when we joined the other three choirs that had been chosen.”

Other choirs were drawn from schools such as Namilyango College, Trinity College Nabbingo, and Kisubi Seminary.

“We first practised for several days at our respective schools but at the end of the school term, we congregated at Kyambogo where we spent several days practising and making final touches to the songs that had been selected,” she recalls.

Pope Paul VI arrives
Pope VI visited Uganda from July 31 to August 2, 1969. On arrival, he was welcomed at Entebbe International Airport by a crowd. He was driven to Kampala in an open Mercedes Benz car, waving to bystanders before proceeding to meet then president, Apollo Milton Obote.

On July 31, Pope Paul VI addressed the faithful at Kololo Independence Grounds, a key ceremony that started with the ordination of 12 bishops, and later he met with Members of Parliament and diplomatics. On the third day of his visit, the Pope celebrated Mass at Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo and later gave a homily at Rubaga Cathedral.

“We sang at all the occasions on the three days,” Irumba recalls.

Although she does not remember exactly how big the papal choir was, she says it was relatively big. There was another mini choir led by the late Joseph Kyagambiddwa, a renowned African traditional musicologist, mainly doing African pieces with percussion instruments such as the ensaasi (shakers), ndingidi (tube-fiddle), ngoma (drums), and endere (flute), among others.
Kyagambidwa was also a music writer, teacher and choral conductor.

Other opportunities
In 1979, during Mass, it was disclosed that the Catholic leadership in the country had received an invitation to visit Rome a year later. This was during preparations for the Centenary celebrations to commemorate 100 years of the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda, on June 3, 1979.

“The announcement was that they were forming a choir that would be travelling to sing during the occasion in Rome. Preparations had started a bit earlier, so on hearing this; I went for the auditions and was selected.”

Singing for Pope John Paul II
On return from Rome, Irumba’s life returned to normal, in spite of the stormy political environment in the country. However, Irumba remained devoted to her choir, practising regularly over the years and singing every Sunday as a norm.
A new government was ushered in 1986, and it did not take long before another major announcement was made that Pope John Paul II was to visit Uganda in 1993.

On February 5, 1993, after much anticipation and preparation, Pope John Paul II arrived in Uganda for a five-day visit. After the rigorous auditions and vetting, Irumba still made it to the last group that sang during the Mass at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo.

It was during the Pope’s visit that the Shrine was elevated to a Minor Basilica.

Singing for Pope Francis
As she narrates the story, emotions engulf Irumba as she reflects on her life journey; a tale she rarely shares outside those closest to her. Overcome with joy, shedding tears is inevitable.

“You see, the Pope in our Church represents greatness and for an ordinary person like me to have had all this privilege to be around a Pope for three times, I cannot even explain my gratitude to God who has enabled me through all this.”

Irumba’s choir in which she has been a member for nearly 42 years, is one of those from which members were drawn to form a choir that will sing for Pope Francis during the Mass at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo today.

When it became official that Pope Francis would come to Uganda, she recalls, her husband was the first person to ask her ‘how would it feel to sing for the Pope for the fourth time?”
A choir of 200 men and women from five the five parishes of Makindye, Mulago, Mukono, Mbuya, and Christ the King will today be singing at the Papal Mass. Each of these parishes contributed 30 members, both choristers and dancers, to the mass choir.

Pope Francis is the third Pope to set foot in Uganda. Other African countries to have been visited by at least two popes are Cameroon, Angola and Benin; visited by Popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

Besides the Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo Shrine, Pope Francis will also visit the Anglican Uganda Martyrs Shrine.
Pope Francis is visiting Uganda from November 27 to 29, to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the canonisation of the Uganda martyrs.

The martyrs were beautified in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV, and declared saints, after they performed miracles, in 1965 by Pope Paul VI at a ceremony held at the Vatican in Rome.

Background
Ms Irumba, the third born of six children, was born in a staunch Catholic family, at Mulago hospital, to a Policeman father and a teacher.

Owing to the nature of her father’s job, she and her siblings had to change schools whenever their father was posted to a different district.
She started and completed primary school in Hoima district, and when later, her father was transferred back to Kampala, she was enrolled at Mt St Mary’s College Namagunga for secondary school in 1967.

She dropped out of school in 1970 due to financial difficulties, and landed a job at the Post Office. Around 1972, she joined Our Lady of Africa, Mbuya choir. The church had been opened by Pope Paul VI during his visit to Uganda in 1969.

Irumba travels to Rome
In June 1979, during Mass it was disclosed that a delegation of about 100 people from Uganda would be heading to the Vatican for the consecration of the Uganda Martyrs Church. The delegation of priests, singers and other officials was led by Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga.

Before leaving for Rome early in the year, she had been wedded by her partner.

“In April 1980, we travelled and throughout the journey I just kept telling myself how lucky I was,” says Irumba. “It was epic in Rome. The choir was big and we sang at a long Mass celebrated by Pope John II.”

The choir was drawn from different countries,
“We spent a week in Rome and later made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel.”

She still has photos of her and fellow choir members with the Pontiff in the background.
“That year was a milestone for me; that I had been wedded and also travelled to Rome to sing for the Pope for the second time. How else can you explain that, if not to say it was by God’s Grace?”