John Baptist Odama
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John Baptist Odama (born 20 July 1947) is a Ugandan Roman Catholic priest, who serves as the Archbishop of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu ( la, Guluen(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Gulu in Uganda. History * 1923.06.12: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Nilo Equatoriale from the Apostolic Vicariate o ...
, in Uganda, since 2 January 1999.


Background and priesthood

Odama was born in Riki-Oluko Village, in present-day
Arua District Arua District is a district in the Northern Region of Uganda. Like many other Ugandan districts, it shares its name with its administrative center of Arua. The name Arua is said to be derived from the Lugbara name for prison (Arujo) and prisoner ...
, in the
West Nile sub-region West Nile sub-region, previously known as West Nile Province and West Nile District, is a sub-region in north-western Uganda, in the Northern Region of Uganda. Location The sub-region is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the s ...
, in the Northern Region of Uganda on 29 June 1947. He was ordained priest in the
Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
on 14 December 1974, at Arua Cathedral, by Bishop Angelo Tarantino, Bishop of Arua. He served as priest of Arua Diocese until 23 February 1996.


As bishop

On 23 February 1996,
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 Odama bishop. He was consecrated Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nebbi, on 26 May 1996, serving in that capacity until 2 January 1999. On 2 January 1999, he was appointed Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gulu, being the first Catholic prelate to serve in that role; the Archdiocese having been created that same day. Odama was the chairman of the interfaith organisation known as ''Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative'' (ARLPI), from 2002 until 2010. The organisation was involved in peace-building efforts in Northern Uganda. As leader of the organisation, Odama met with
Joseph Kony Joseph Rao Kony (likely born 1961) is a Ugandan militant who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian fundamentalist organization, designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union and variou ...
and other leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army and mediated between them and the Government of Uganda. ARLPI received the
Niwano Peace Prize The Niwano Peace Prize is given to honor and encourage those devoting themselves to interreligious co-operation in the cause of peace and to make their achievements known. Its foundation hopes that the prize will further promote interreligious co-o ...
in 2004. Odama was also involved in the 2006–08 Juba talks between the two parties in
South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
. Archbishop Odama has been the chairman of the
Uganda Episcopal Conference The Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) or Episcopal Conference of Uganda is the local conference of Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda, established in 1960. The UEC acts primarily through the Uganda Catholic Secretariat in an effort to promote and ...
since 2010.


Other responsibilities

As of January 2020, Archbishop Odama is the Chancellor of
Uganda Martyrs University Uganda Martyrs University (UMU) is a private University affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda. The University is owned by the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Bishops of Uganda. It is licensed by the Uganda National Council fo ...
, a private university affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church in Uganda and whose main campus is in
Mpigi District Mpigi District is a district in Central Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'main town', Mpigi. Location Mpigi District is bordered by Wakiso District to the north and east, Kalangala District to the south, Kalun ...
, Uganda.


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 ...


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odama, John Baptist 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Uganda 1947 births Living people People from Arua District People from West Nile sub-region 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda Roman Catholic bishops of Nebbi Roman Catholic archbishops of Gulu Ugandan Roman Catholic archbishops