Martyrs Days Celebrations of 3 june 1998 and 2018

The Story of the Archdiocese of Tororo is closely linked with the development of the Vicariate of the Upper Nile.  This Vicariate was established by Pope Leo XIII in 1894 and entrusted to the Mill Hill Missionaries.  It comprised the area stretching from St. Peter’s Church, Nsambya (Uganda) to St. Patrick’s Church, Naivasha, (Kenya). Its subsequent history can be looked at in four phases.

The first phase (1896-1924) saw the building of mission stations in East Buganda, Busoga, Bukedi, Bugisu and Teso.

The second phase (1925-1950) was marked by the creation of the Vicariate of Kavirondo (later Kisumu) in 1925, thus cutting off the Kenyan portion of the Vicariate.  Beginning in the 1930s, there was an increase in the number of people asking for Baptism, to which the Mill Hill Missionaries responded by sending more priests and brothers and doubling the number of parishes.  The Vicariate also began to harvest the first fruits by the ordination to the priesthood of the first African priests in this area, namely, Fr. John Eneku (1939), Fr. Philip Odii (1939), Fr. Raphael Kajengo (1940) and others.  Then in 1948, the Vicariate was further divided into two Vicariates. The Vicariate Apostolic of Kampala was under Bishop Billington, resident in Nsambya.  The remaining section was formed into the Vicariate Apostolic of Tororo, under Bishop John Reesinck.