Kampala — TO some, he was a holy man and a mentor while to others, he was a hardworking and devoted priest who spent his life building the Catholic Church in Uganda.

Monsignor Lawrence Mbwega, one of Uganda's oldest serving priests succumbed to a heart attack at Nsambya Hospital at the age of 98. He celebrated his 70th anniversary as a priest on December 20, 2009.

According to Paul Mugerwa, his former caretaker, the late priest had been in and out of the hospital since 2007.

His great work

Mugerwa says Christians will celebrate the life and the works of Mbwega more than mourn his death.

In the 1940s, Fr. Mbwega was on the committee of Christians that advocated the remembrance of people persecuted by Kabaka Mwanga because of their religion.

"He was among the Christians who attended the Pronunciation of Uganda Martyrs in Italy in 1969," Mugerwa says. He later spent over 25 years at Namugongo Shrine heading a group of Christians that helped in the construction of an artificial lake.

It is an extensive square puddle sitting in the middle of a deep valley, surrounded by blooming flowers, towering trees, neat green carpets of grass and yellow and white concrete alleys and pavements.

During the annual pilgrimage to the Namugongo shrine, many people take water from this lake, because they believe it is holy. Some wash their feet and others dump their belongings there with the hope of taking blessings home. However, Monsignor Mbwega said the lake has no special religious significance.

"It was created for convenience. Faced with the growing number of Christians in a small church, my predecessors, Peter Hoeun and Monsignor Anatoli Kamya, wanted to clear the swamp to create space. However, they never did it until I joined Namugongo in 1954," he said.

Mugerwa says Mbwega's vision has turned it into a venue for wedding receptions and a tourist attraction.

He was instrumental in education. He spearheaded the setting up of Catholic schools like Martyrs Namugongo SSS.

Monsignor John Katende, the spokesperson of the Kampala Archdiocese described Mbwega as a man of God, who mentored many people, including him.

At the time of his death, he had inspired thousands of people of different religious affiliations, who frequently visit Kiwamirembe Shrine, off Entebbe Road for prayers to the Virgin Mary, to take God's word in their inner being. Mbwega was a priest at Namilyango Parish, where he mobilised students and the community into becoming devoted Christians.

A native of Buvuma Island in Mukono district, Mbwega was born on November 11, 1912 to Mathew Nandibijjo Lulume and Alistera Mbakolere. He studied at Ggaba Seminary in 1932, before joining Nyenga Seminary and was ordained a priest on December 10, 1939, at Nsambya. He leaves a legacy of hard work and dedication to the word of God.