History

The Apostolic Nunciature in Uganda was set up after diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Uganda were formally entered into on 2nd September 1966. Before this date the Catholic Church in Uganda was under the Apostolic Delegation of Kenya. The Apostolic Delegates, resident first in Mombasa, then in Nairobi, were:

• His Excellency Msgr. Arthur HINSLEY, 1930-1934
• His Excellency Msgr. Antonio RIBERI-McCARTHY, 1935-46
• His Excellency Msgr. David MATHEW, 1946-1953
• His Excellency Msgr. James Robert KNOX, 1953-1957
• His Excellency Msgr. Gastone MOJAISKY-PERELLI, 1957-59
• His Excellency Msgr. Guido DEL MESTRI, 1959-67

The first Papal Representative to Uganda after the establishment of diplomatic relations was appointed on 6th August 1967. Up to 1999 the Representative of the Holy Father in Uganda was known by the title of "Apostolic Pro-Nuncio"; since then he carries the title of "Apostolic Nuncio". The following is the complete list of Papal Representatives to Uganda:

• His Excellency Msgr. Amelio Poggi, Tit. Arch. of Cercina 1967-1969(Italian)
• His Excellency Msgr. Luigi Bellotti, Tit. Arch. of Voncariana 1969-1975(Italian)
• His Excellency Msgr. Henri Lemaître, Tit. Arch. of Tongeren 1975-1982 (Belgian)
• His Excellency Msgr. Karl-Josef Rauber, Tit. Arch. of Giubalziana 1982-1990 (German)
• His Excellency Msgr. Luis Robles Díaz, Tit. Arch. of Stefaniaco 1990-1999 (Mexican)
• His Excellency Msgr. Christophe Pierre, Tit. Arch. of Gunela 1999-2007 (French). Born 29th January, 1946
• His Excellency Msgr. Paul Tschang In-Nam,Tit. Archbishop of Amantia August 27,2007 - [Korean] Born Oct 30, 1949.

His Excellency Msgr. Paul Tschang In-Nam

His Excellency Msgr. Paul Tschang In-Nam was born on October 30, 1949 in Seoul, South Korea, and he was ordained to the priesthood on December 17, 1976 for the Diocese of Cheongju, South Korea.

He concluded ecclesiastical studies obtaining a Doctorate in Theology, and entered Diplomatic Services of the Holy See on May 1st,1985. From 1985-2002, he served as a Diplomat of the Holy See, in the capacity of Secretary and Counsellor in the Apostolic Nunciatures of El Salvador, Ethiopia, Syria, France, Greece, and Belgium.

After working at the Vatican Secretariat of State, he was named Titular Archbishop of Amanzia and Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh on October 19, 2002. Pope John Paul II consecrated him a bishop on 6th January, 2003.

August 27,2007 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda. He arrived in the Country in November 2007.

Message from the Apostolic Nuncio to the  Association of Diocesan Priests (UNDIPA)

May the Holy Spirit grant you the grace to be witnesses of the extraordinary grace of the Year of the Priest, in a special way during the planned  “National Celebration of the Year of the Priest”  from 30th May to 2nd June in Kampala. I am very grateful for your initiative and willingly I send you this message in the name of the Holy Father Benedict XVI as well as in my own personal name.

The enthusiasm with which the priests and the whole Church have been taking up this Year of the Priest all over the world and by you in particular shows how important and really prophetical the gesture of the Pope was. Through this gesture Holy Father invited all the Church to the renewal and awareness of the great gift of the ordained priesthood and called all the priests to a real conversion to Jesus Christ. The Holy Father proposed us as a model the great saint priest Jean Marie Vianney, whose life was totally identified with his priesthood, an extraordinary wonder in a secularized France together with the Apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes.

The gesture of the Year of the Priests proved to be necessary and fitting for what has been happening during this very year. The most crude and merciless persecution of the Church is coming from inside, as the Pope affirmed during his recent pilgrimage to Fatima. The suffering of the Church comes from the most shameful and heinous crimes of some priests, for which we are all called to make penance in solidarity. We are called to go to Christ that he may cure our wounds. We know that it has been the case since the beginning, as the greatest suffering of Christ came from some of the Apostles.

Thus the Year of the Priest will lead the Church to a clearer and deeper awareness of the greatness of the priesthood, a precious gift of the Lord given to the Church and to the world. At the same time we become aware that the priests ourselves need to be healed by the Crucified and Risen Christ before anyone else, to be a sign of the mercy and love of Christ for humanity.
In his recent pilgrimage to Fatima Benedict XVI indicated the following points that are to be followed for a true renewal of the Church and of the priests in particular.

1. Faced by the fact that countries who were traditionally deeply Catholic fell into a kind of secularism in which faith has no relevance for life, he invites to a serious dialogue between secularism and faith: “So I would say that the presence of secularism is something normal, but the separation and the opposition between secularism and a culture of faith is something anomalous and must be transcended. The great challenge of the present moment is for the two to come together, and in this way to discover their true identity”, says the Pope.  
2. Faced with the global economical crisis Benedict  XVI stresses that between faith and finance there must be a dialogue. If faith is individualistic and does not care for the morality in the things that are concerned with the common good, it is not performing the mission entrusted by the Lord. On the other hand, a finance that follows its proper rules is failing not only spiritually but also in the fields of economics. It is necessary that each follower of Christ becomes “responsible of the whole world”.
3. The evil that persecutes and troubles the Church is not only coming from outside, but also from the sin inside the Church. Therefore it is necessary to do a continual conversion and penance; conversion to Christ Crucified and Risen who alone can heal our wounds. In the interventions of the Pope, he strongly affirms that the power of salvation coming from Christ, overcomes the evil that comes either from outside or inside the Church. The last word over all is the mercy of Christ, which does not eliminate justice.
4. He entrusted and consecrated the priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 12th May, in order that they be aware of their great dignity and respond with enthusiasm to their call in the present situation of the Church and of the world.

It is my wish and prayer that through the intercession of Our Lady, Mother of Jesus and our mother, may all the priests remain faithful to our priestly vocation and ministry.

 

+ Paul Tschang In-Nam
Apostolic Nuncio in Uganda

18th May 2010

Contacts

Apostolic Nunciature
Chwa II Road, Mbuya Hill
P.O. Box 7177
Kampala -UGANDA.
Tel.: 041-505619 Fax: 041-221774.
E-mail: nuntius@infocom.co.ug