I became bishop when I hoped to be parish priest - Baharagate

Retired Bishop of Hoima Diocese Edward Baharagate. Photo by Dominic Bukenya

What you need to know:

Holy journey. It is 46 years since Uganda made history as the first African country to host the Pope. Key to Pope Paul VI’s historical trip to Uganda in 1969, was the consecration of 12 African bishops. Retired Bishop of Hoima Edward Baharagate, one of the consecrated bishops that day, spoke to Henry Lubega about the consecration event.

After 11 years in priesthood, I went to Urban University in Rome in 1965 to study Church Law for four years. I returned to Uganda in May 1969. Before going to Rome for studies, I was teaching at St Louis Kyegobe, but at that time, the Diocese of Fort Portal had been split into two to create the Diocese of Hoima.

The new bishop of Hoima Diocese, allowed me to go to Rome to study. When I came back, Hoima Diocese had a new caretaker priest because Bishop Kihangire had been transferred from Hoima to Gulu. The caretaker priest requested me to go to a parish in Masindi as I waited for an appointment.
While in Masindi, I was called to the Pope Nuncio’s office in Nsambya. On July 13, 1969, he took me to his private office and told me of the news of my appointment as the Bishop of Hoima Diocese. That very day, he handed me a letter from the Pope appointing me the Bishop of Hoima, barely two months after my return from Rome. In the letter, the Holy Father said: “I will be visiting Uganda on July 31, 1969, and I will consecrate you Bishop in Uganda with 11 others.”

Four of the 12 people to be consecrated bishops were from Uganda, including Serapio Magambo (RIP), John Baptist Kakubi, Barnabas Hararimana and myself.
I had not expected anything like that. I was very surprised because by the time I was appointed, I was expecting to be appointed a priest in one of our parishes in Hoima, but not as Bishop of Hoima Diocese.

The 12 priests, who were to be consecrated, had a short retreat at Ggaba national seminary before the arrival of the Pope. All of us were air-lifted from Naguru Police Air Wing to Entebbe to welcome the Pope and our helicopter was the last to arrive at the airport before the Pope landed. At exactly 3pm, the Holy Father landed at Entebbe. We received him on the tarmac and we were introduced to him as the priests he was going to ordain the following day. We were all dressed in black cassocks and a purple sash.
There were many other bishops from the world who had come to Uganda following the Holy Father’s visit. The security was not as tight as it is today. There were lots of dances at the tarmac before and after the Pope arrived.

Consecration
We were taken by bus from Ggaba to Kololo Airstrip, where we were to be consecrated. Everybody knew that the Holy Father had made a pilgrimage to Uganda to consecrate 12 priests as bishops. We were among the last people to arrive at Kololo. The roads from Ggaba to Kololo had been cleared but people lined on the roadside to see the Pope, who was residing in Nsambya.

At Kololo, we took our seats at a special place arranged for the 12 of us. The mood at Kololo was electrifying right from the time the Pope arrived until Mass started. The Holy Father was the main celebrant of the day, assisted by some cardinals who had come to witness the occasion. When the time came for the actual consecration, the 12 of us knelt down. The Pope laid hands on each of us, followed by the other bishops and cardinals at the event.

It was a great feeling because none if us, the newly consecrated bishops, knew we were to be bishops at that time. The Mass started shortly before 10am. By midday, the function was over. The following day, we joined the Holy Father at Namugongo when he visited the place and consecrated the altar of the Martyrs Shrine, and that was the first mass I celebrated as a bishop with the Holy Father.
On October 5, 1969, I was installed as the Bishop of the Diocese of Hoima until March 9, 1991, when I retired.”

About Bishops
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanctifying the world and representing the Church. Catholics trace the origins of the office of the bishop to the apostles, who it is believed, were endowed with a special chrism by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Catholics believe this special chrism has been transmitted through an unbroken succession of bishops by the laying on of hands in the sacrament of Holy Orders.