James Odongo (27 March 19314 December 2020) was a Ugandan Roman Catholic prelate who served as bishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo ( la, Tororoën(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Tororo in Uganda.
On January 2, 2014, it was announced that the Bishop of Soroti, Uganda, Emmanuel Obbo, had been named b ...
in
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...
, from 5 January 1985, until his retirement on 27 June 2007.
He had also served as Auxiliary Bishop of Tororo, Uganda from 25 November 1964 until 19 August 1968, and as Archbishop of Tororo Archdiocese from 2 January 1999 until 27 June 2007.
Background and priesthood
Odongo was born in the village of Molo, in present-day
Tororo District
Tororo District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Tororo hosts the district headquarters.
Location
Tororo District is bordered by Mbale District to the north, Manafwa District to the north-east, Kenya to the east, Bus ...
, in the
Eastern Region of Uganda. His twin sibling, Father Alfred Opio, predeceased him.
He was ordained priest on 22 December 1956 and served as priest in the Diocese of Tororo until 25 November 1964.
As bishop
Odongo was appointed by
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
as the ordinated
titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...
of
Bahanna Dhorbania, also known as ''Henchir Oued Nebhana'', is a village and locality in Tunisia. It's also the site of Ancient city and former bishopric Bahanna, now a Latin Catholic titular see.
Location
Dhorbania is in the Kairouan Governorate of Tuni ...
on 25 November 1964 and auxiliary bishop of Tororo. He was consecrated as bishop on 16 February 1965 by Cardinal
Laurean Rugambwa
Laurean Rugambwa (July 12, 1912 – December 8, 1997) was the first modern native African Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.
Biography
Laure ...
†, Bishop of
Roman Catholic Diocese of Bukoba
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bukoba ( la, Dioecesis Bukobaënsis) is a diocese located in Bukoba in the Ecclesiastical province of Mwanza in Tanzania.http://press.catholica.va/news_services/bulletin/news/30302.php?index=30302&lang=en
History
* ...
, assisted by Bishop
John Francis Greif,
MHM†, Bishop of Tororo and
Vincent Joseph McCauley, Congregation of Holy Cross†, Bishop of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal ( la, Arcis Portal) is a diocese located in the city of Fort Portal in the Ecclesiastical province of Mbarara in Uganda.
The Catholic Diocese of Fort Portal formerly belonging to Rwenzori Vicariate was ...
.
On 19 August 1968, he was appointed as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tororo. On 5 January 1985,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
appointed him to concurrently serve as the bishop of the Military Ordinate of Uganda. As of July 2019, he was the incumbent diocesan Ordinary of that diocese.
On 2 January 1999, Odongo became the first Archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tororo ( la, Tororoën(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Tororo in Uganda.
On January 2, 2014, it was announced that the Bishop of Soroti, Uganda, Emmanuel Obbo, had been named b ...
. He retired from that position on 27 June 2007, thus becoming Archbishop Emeritus of Tororo, Uganda.
As of January 2017, following the death of Right Reverend Colin Cameron Davis, Bishop Emeritus of
Ngong Diocese, in
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
, Archbishop Odongo became the last surviving representative of AMECEA Region at the
Vatican II Council, which was held between 1962 and 1965.
Retirement and death
Following his retirement in 2007, Bishop Emeritus Odongo settled in the city of
Mbale
Mbale is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region.
Location
Mbale is approximately , by road, northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capita ...
. For the two weeks before his death, he was hospitalised at
St. Francis Hospital Nsambya. He died there on the morning of 4 December 2020.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Uganda
The Catholic Church in Uganda is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are an estimated 34.1 million Catholics in the country, comprising around 39.3% of the total population in 2014.
The ...
*
Uganda Martyrs
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
They were killed on orders of Mwang ...
Succession table as Archbishop of Military Ordinariate of Uganda
References
External links
Profile of Military Ordinariate of Uganda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odongo, James
1931 births
2020 deaths
People from Tororo District
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Uganda
Roman Catholic archbishops of Tororo