Kinyamasika, Uganda, Sep 13, 2007 / 09:29 am
St. Paul's Seminary in Kinyamasika, Uganda, is in need of expansion to accommodate a boom in priestly vocations.
At the moment, there are 152 theology students preparing for ordination, and the numbers are growing every year, Fr. Aquirinus Francis Kibira told Aid to the Church in Need.
Despite the growing number of vocations, Fr. Kibira said, there is still a shortage of priests in wide areas of Uganda. The parishes are very big and contain on average 40 to 50 smaller chapel-based communities, which themselves are made up of several villages. As a result, lay catechists play an important role.
Fr. Kibira said the seminarians are taught how to evangelize traditional African values. "It is important to proclaim the Gospel in such a way that it speaks to Africans, in a way that they understand. We strive to root the African cultures in the Gospel," he explained.
Africa has many positive values, such as respect for the elderly, hospitality and a strong sense of community. He encourages seminarians to reinforce these values in their pastoral work and to find ways of "preaching the Gospel of Christ to the African culture, so that Christ is made fully at home in Africa also".