Jinja's Father Picavet dies aged 82
What you need to know:
- Ms Grace Mukyala Akello, a family member, said the deceased contributed a lot in Jinja becoming a city because he was on the planning committee.
- He was born in the Netherlands in 1938 but came to Uganda as a missionary in 1974 and until his death, he was staying in Buyala Village, Budondo Sub-county in Jinja district.
Father Gerald Picavet, a renowned Catholic priest and philanthropist in Busoga Sub-region, has succumbed to cardiac complications aged 82, Fr Joseph King of Mill Hill Missionaries, has confirmed.
Fr King said Fr Picavet passed away at Nile International Hospital in Jinja City on Wednesday at around 11pm, adding that the deceased has, for the past four months, been on life support.
“It’s a big loss to Jinja and Busoga Sub-region as a whole because he helped many vulnerable people stay in school, while providing their upkeep,” Fr King said on Thursday.
By press time, Fr Picavet’s body still lay at Nile International Hospital from where it will be taken to Buyala Village, Budondo Sub-county in Jinja District.
Mr Daudi Migereko, the chairperson Uganda Tourism Board, described Fr Picavet’s death as ‘a great loss to the country and catholic community’.
“The deceased had turned this country into his home and gave vulnerable young people an opportunity to study by contributing to their education in vocational skills; I send my condolences to the family,” Mr Migereko eulogized.
Dr Frank Nabwiso, a politician and Jinja City FDC mayoral aspirant, said that the deceased’s deeds deserve to be chronicled for posterity.
“The late introduced rural development programmes in Budondo Sub-county to fight poverty in the area; therefore, basing on that his legacy needs to be documented,” Dr Nabwiso said.
Fr Picavet has already been immortalized after a road in Jinja City that was named in his honour.
Mr Alex Brandon, who was brought up by Fr Picavet, said the priest has been sick for ‘a long time’ and they had been running up and down to save his life; unfortunately that was not achieved.
“I’ll remember him for his contribution to promote education in this district by providing scholastic materials to needy children. He personally paid my school fees at secondary level,” Mr Brandon said.
Ms Grace Mukyala Akello, a family member, said the deceased contributed a lot in Jinja becoming a city because he was on the planning committee.
She added that during the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Northern Uganda, Fr Picavet mobilised items, including clothes among others, to support victims, mainly widows and HIV/AIDS patients.
Some of Fr Picavet’s key accomplishments in Buyala Village include the construction of Enkabi church/centre, a forestry centre, vocational institute, Lubaga Students’ Centre, Lilian Foundation, an NGO focusing on the well-being of children and donating wheelchairs to People With Disabilities (PWDs) among others.
He was born in the Netherlands in 1938 but came to Uganda as a missionary in 1974 and until his death, he was staying in Buyala Village, Budondo Sub-county in Jinja district.
With the burial tentatively set for Saturday, it is unclear whether he will be laid to rest in Buyala, where he has lived for over 40 years, or at a cemetery in Lubaga Village, Mpumudde division in Jinja City.
