The first Ugandan ordination to the diaconate in the 400-year history
of the Order of St Camillus took place on Sunday at Killucan, Co
Westmeath.
The ordination ceremony of Richard Lubaale was performed by Bishop
Michael Smith of Meath at the Camillians motherhouse in Ireland.
Later
this year, Br Richard is to be ordained to the priesthood in his home
country.
Camillian Provincial, Fr Stephen Foster, described the event as “a most joyful and serene occasion” and he told ciNews that
Br Richard’s mother and family had watched the ceremony live in Uganda
over the internet.
He added, “We know it was also watched throughout
the world by Camillians and friends from Burkina Faso to Australia.”
Br Richard is a member of the Anglo-Irish Province of the Order of St
Camillus.
The Province opened a mission in Uganda only ten years ago
when Kerryman, Fr Tom O’Connor and Fr Tom Smith from Cavan settled
there.
Last March, Fr Stephen Foster welcomed six new aspirants into
the Camillians from Uganda.
St Camillus is the patron saint of the sick and those who care for them.
The Order, also known as Camillians, has existed since it was founded
in Rome in 1582.
It began as a group of men who followed the example
of Camillus de Lellis. A relic containing the heart of St Camillus was
brought to Ireland last year to mark the 75th anniversary of the Order’s
arrival in Ireland.
It was only the third time in 400 years that the heart had travelled
outside Rome and was its first time ever in Ireland.
Thousands of Irish
people turned out to venerate the relic on its journey from Killucan to
Dublin to Knock.