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The Pope's Stay Here in Kampala
Jump to —>Monde.
"His Beatitude, the most blessed and divine and most all-holy Theodoros II, our Father and Archpastor, Pope and Patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, Libya, the Pentapolis (wherever that is), Egypt, the whole land of Egypt and Uganda, and of all Africa; Father of Fathers, Pastor of Pastors, High Priest of High Priests, Thirteenth Apostle, and Judge of the Inhabited World"... arrives in balmy Kampala on Tuesday, December 13th, for a nine-day pastoral visit.
And actually, despite all the Byzantine titles, the 24-hour police escort, the car provided by the President of the Republic of Uganda, and so forth, the Pope turned out to be a very straightforward and refreshingly unassuming and simple person, clearly a leader and quite savvy about using his role to best effect for the work he has to do. Not that I expected otherwise, somehow, but this is just to say that it was a real pleasure to be part of all the work we did with him here.
Upon his arrival, we had a brief service of thanksgiving in the church, and a patriarchal blessing.
On the second day, we took a walking tour of the somewhat extensive facilities here at the diocesan center in Namungoona— a hospital, two schools (primary and secondary), printery, teacher housing and dormitories for students, offices, church, conference center, and so forth.
The Pope drops by my office for a brief chat, along with Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga, our bishop here in Kampala.
On tour.
On tour.
On tour.
The Patriarch was very good with kids.
Praying at the grave of Bishop Reuben Spartas, one of the founders of the Uganda Orthodox Church.
Signing the Metropolitan's guest register (guest registers are a big thing in Uganda. You can hardly go anywhere without signing one. I don't think I've ever seen our bishop so happy. It was obvious that he was just thrilled to have the Pope stay here, not just on his way to somewhere else, for for more than a whole week!
This was a working breakfast and conference with the diocesan clergy and seminarians. The Pope talked about various educational efforts (including his plan to open a patriarchal academy in Alexandria, with instruction in English and French), and some ideas for the community economic and religious development.
Bishop Hieronymos of Bukoba, Tanzania came to visit the Pope. They are old friends; in fact Pope Theodore ordained him as deacon, so it was obviously a very special reunion. Bishop Hieronymos was here for the better part of a week, himself.
Liturgy and Festiities at Monde
Back to —>Kampala.
The seminarians and I arrived quite late (there's a saga there, but I won't go into it)— and the liturgy was almost at the point of the Epiklesis when we walked in.
Metropolitan Jonah and the Pope confer about the post-liturgy ceremonial as they await the conclusion of the communion of the faithful.
In what will be one of the few quiet moments of the day, Pope Theodore unvests after serving the holy Liturgy and before his tour of facilities, speeches, and so forth.
One of the interesting aspects of watching the pope in action was seeing how savvy he was about media. He has been a bishop in Africa for many years, and obviously understands what must be done by someone who is in the public eye— not only how to conduct himself, of course, but also how to use the opportunity that it gives him to the advantage of his pastoral concerns. He had a very quick eye for photogenic locations, and would summon the video guy (there was always a video guy, of course) and immediately break into a heartfelt speech about the need to support the church here— to help us dig wells, build schools, churches, clinics, etc. Posing for the camera is an inescapable part of being a "VIP". But it can be used to further the goals of the organization.
The children of Monde's Orthodox school put on a little show, and afterwards got some treats!
Maria prepares a feast of pineapple for the guests.
George and a couple of the guys take a break while the speeches flow.
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