Following the sudden demise of the Archbishop of Kampala Dr. Cyprian Lwanga, Pope Francis has appointed the Bishop of Kasana Luwero, Paul Semwogerere the Apostolic Administrator of Kampala Archdiocese until another Archbishop is appointed.
The announcement was made by the Pope’s representative to Uganda, (Papal Nuncio) Archbishop Bianco Luigi at the burial ceremony of the Late Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga at Rubaga Cathedral.
In his message, the Pope consoled the Catholic Church in Uganda and the world for the loss of a great and committed shepherd like Dr Lwanga.
Unlike an ordinary Bishop or Archbishop, the administrator has only vicarious power, governing not in his own name, but in the name of the pope whose jurisdiction he exercises in line with canon law 371.
This stipulates that an apostolic administration is a certain portion of the people of God which is not erected as a Diocese by the Supreme Pontiff due to special and particularly grave reasons.
The chairperson of the episcopal conference Bishop Anthony Zziwa clarified that the appointment of Bishop Ssemwogerere doesn’t have any effect on his role as the ordinary of Kasana Luwero. Instead, he will govern the diocese in the name of the Supreme Pontiff and coordinate the day to day work of the Archdiocese until the Pope names the new Archbishop.
Dr Lwanga succumbed to Ischemic heart disease following coronary heart thrombosis last week. He was found dead in his room.