Mgr. Fabio Baggio, Archbishop of Urusi, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), conducted a mission to Uganda from 6 to 12 November 2024.
In his visit, Archbishop Baggio assured all the people of this African country, and especially the Catholic faithful, of the closeness of Pope Francis. He also strove to learn about the challenges facing the local Church, in order to respond in a spirit of service and accompaniment.
The Undersecretary joined the local Catholic community in celebrating World Migrant and Refugee Day - which the universal Church observed on 29 September - and visited locations where migrants and refugees are welcomed. This ministry, of welcoming migrants, has seen Bishop Baggio constantly at the side of those who are victims of forced migration and those who respond to their needs.
His schedule included a meeting with the Ugandan Bishops' Conference at the Apostolic Nunciature in Kampala, where he informed the Bishops of the new structure of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. The Dicastery’s structure aims at fostering the mission of listening to and accompanying the local Churches as instructed by the Holy Father in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium.
After a short stay in Kampala, Bishop Baggio visited the Diocese of Arua, in the north-western region of Uganda. Arua is home to more than one million refugees, most of them from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
His meeting with the community of migrants and refugees was hosted by the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement - one of the largest refugee camps in the world - in the Yumbe district. After concelebrating Mass there for World Migrant and Refugee Day, Bishop Baggio visited the Palorinya Refugee Settlement.
A further visit was to the town of Adjumani. There he celebrated Holy Mass in the town parish, then met with pastoral agents involved in assisting and supporting migrants and refugees in the diocese, so as to learn about the fruits and the difficulties of their work.
In his mission, Mgr Fabio Baggio was accompanied by Fr Dumisani Vilakati, Regional Coordinator for Africa of the Listening and Dialogue Section of the Dicastery.
