The Soroti Catholic Diocese has announced the postponement of the highly anticipated homecoming of Bishop Simon Peter Engurait, the Ugandan-born Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the country.
Bishop Engurait was scheduled to make his first visit to Uganda since his installation as bishop in the United States on September 5, 2025.
The event was set to take place at St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Ngora District on June 19, 2026, and was expected to attract over 10,000 Christians and more than 200 priests from across the Soroti Catholic Diocese.
In a statement released by Msgr. Robert Ecogu, the Vicar General of the Soroti Catholic Diocese, the recent surge in Ebola cases has caused significant setbacks to the program. “Given the prevailing health circumstances and alerts that continue to unfold every day, Bishop Simon Peter Engurait will not be able to travel to Uganda as scheduled,” the statement read. “We cannot celebrate his homecoming yet, until the country is declared Ebola-free and we are able to reschedule his visit.”
Msgr. Ecogu urged the community to continue with preparations, resource mobilization and spucing up memorial landmarks associated with the homecoming.”This is the time now for us to mobilize aggressively for resources to enable us to complete at least the foundation works of the two memorial structures: Bishop Eciru Dormitory at Ngora Demonstration primary school and Bishop Engurait Pavilion at the Diocesan Events Grounds,” he added.
Bishop Engurait, who previously served as the diocesan administrator of Houma-Thibodaux, is the second Ugandan to be appointed bishop outside of Uganda, following Bishop Joseph Mary Kizito of Aliwal in South Africa.
Born on August 28, 1971, in Ngora district, Bishop Engurait began his religious journey at Saint Peter Minor Seminary in Soroti and later at Saint Peter’s College in Tororo.
He earned a degree in political science and public administration from Makerere University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.
After relocating to the United States, he pursued theological studies at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, where he completed a Master of Divinity. He was ordained a priest in 2013 for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana.
Fluent in English, Ateso, Kishwahili, and Spanish, he has served in various roles, including parish vicar, parish priest of Saint Bridget since 2017, moderator of the Curia, vicar general, and most recently, diocesan administrator following the departure of the previous bishop.
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux spans 3,500 square miles in Louisiana and serves a total population of 257,548, of whom 75,761 are Catholic.
The Soroti Catholic Diocese remains hopeful that conditions will improve, allowing for the rescheduling of Bishop Engurait’s homecoming in the near future.
SOURCE: URN
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