A new Catholic church has been built in Uganda with money donated by the Winston Hills parish in the Parramatta Diocese. Source: Catholic Outlook.
Fr Abraham Kunnatholy CMI, the former assistant priest at St Paul the Apostle Parish, Winston Hills, and current parish priest of Corpus Christi Parish, Cranebrook, travelled to Uganda to participate in the blessing on May 1.
Bishop Lawrence Mukasa, the local bishop of the Kasana-Luweero Diocese, presided over the ceremony blessing the new church of St Chavara and St Kizito sub-parish.
The Winston Hills parish began fundraising for the new church after Fr Kunnatholy was told by members of his congregation – the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate – in Uganda that they were having trouble raising the money themselves.
He relayed this concern to the Winston Hills parish priest, Fr John Paul Escarlan, who gave his support and organised for the appeal to begin.
The parish raised more than $25,000, which Fr Kunnatholy said was a modest amount compared to the cost of building a church in Australia, but which made a lasting difference to the struggling parish in Uganda.
“What I told the people of Winston Hills was: ‘What we have given is equal to the amount necessary for the construction of a pergola in Australia, and the people in Uganda get a completed church.’”
This commitment by the parish is an example of “mission”, one of the priorities of Parramatta’s Diocesan Pastoral Plan, which works towards creating a Church that “reaches to the margins” and is “renewed in spirit and prayer”.
After the blessing, Fr Kunnatholy met with Bishop Mukasa, who “spoke highly of the contribution of the Church in Australia for the contribution that they made towards the construction of the Kalasa church”.
Uganda has one of the fastest-growing Catholic populations in the world, with more than 17 million believers, according to the latest Vatican statistics. This new church has a capacity for up to 300 people, and since its opening is almost full every Sunday for Mass.
FULL STORY
Ugandan church built with money raised from Winston Hills parish (By Antony Lawes, Catholic Outlook)
