Pope Francis appointed Rev. Vincent Kirabo, a professor at St. Mary’s Major Seminary in Ggaba, as the new Bishop of Hoima, Uganda, on Nov. 30, 2015. Bishop-elect Kirabo earned a master’s in education degree at the University of Portland in 1990.
Vincent Kirabo was born in Kyanaisoke, Uganda in 1955 and began philosophical studies at the Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary Aloculum in Gulu. After completing theological studies at St. Mary’s National Seminar, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Hoima in 1979. The bishop-elect has served as a teacher and rector at St. John Bosco Minor Seminary, Hoima; director of the Diocesan Commission for Vocations; vicar at Muhorro Parish; pastor at a number of western Uganda parishes; and more. In addition to his University of Portland degree, he holds a Licentiate in Biblical Theology from the Urban University in Rome (2007). He replaces the late Bishop Deogratias Muganwa Byabazaire, who died in February 2014. The western Uganda district of Hoima covers an area of 17,200 sq. miles, with a population of 2,084,214, (1,075,812 Catholics), 131 priests, and 130 religious.