Closing the Year of Mission in Koch Goma: A Two-Day Witness of Faith, Hope, and Communion

From 27–28 April 2026, the Congregation of Holy Cross Province of East Africa brought to a joyful conclusion its Year of Mission at St. André Bessette Catholic Parish in Koch Goma, a young and growing mission in the Gulu Archdiocese.

Day One: Mission Among the People

On 27 April 2026, the mission team set out early in the morning, travelling for nearly one and a half hours along the muddy red roads of Nwoya District. Three trucks carrying Holy Cross priests, brothers, and collaborators journeyed into the quiet village of Ogello, where the day’s pastoral outreach began.

The team was warmly welcomed by pupils, teachers, and Christians of St. Nicholas Bungu. Songs of joy, ululations, and radiant smiles expressed the deep affection of a community that felt seen, remembered, and accompanied.

After introductions, community members shared the many challenges facing their school and parish life. The mission team listened attentively. Their presence, words of encouragement, and message of hope brought renewed strength to many hearts weighed down by hardship. Classroom materials, sports equipment, and scholastic supplies were distributed to support the educational mission of the school.

In his remarks, Fr. Peter Caxton Mayanja C.S.C., the Provincial Superior, assured the community of the solidarity of Holy Cross and emphasized the need to continue raising awareness about the school’s needs.

The pastoral outreach then moved into the small Christian communities. The team visited the sick, the elderly, and vulnerable members of the faithful. In these homes, the missionaries encountered Christ present among the poor. The Eucharist was brought to them, prayers were offered, and gifts of clothing were shared. What could have been a simple pastoral visit became a sacred moment of encounter, tenderness, and healing.

Another group visited Ogello Primary School, which serves only about 120 learners and faces many material limitations. There, too, scholastic materials were offered. Yet beyond material support, the stronger gift was a message calling for renewed hope, collaboration, and a change of mindset as foundations for a better future.

The day also carried a moment of sorrow. At St. Francis Juma Outstation Church, the faithful shared the painful reality of their collapsed church building. The atmosphere was marked by grief and uncertainty. In that moment, Fr. Arnold C.S.C and Fr. Mayanja C.S.C. offered words of encouragement, reminding the people that though structures may fall, the living Church remains alive wherever faith endures.

As evening approached, the team returned to the parish tired from the long journey yet deeply fulfilled by the day’s pastoral encounters.

Day Two: Divine Drums and the Rhythm of Communion

On 28 April 2026, the mission reached its climax. The journey from Kampala back to Koch Goma once again revealed the realities of missionary life in rural northern Uganda. Because of difficult road conditions, the team was compelled to pass through parts of the Lira Diocese in order to access the mission territory within the Gulu Archdiocese.

The convoy moved through forests, wide green plains, and farmland rich with maize and soya beans. Nature itself seemed to welcome the visitors. After a twenty-minute drive along narrow roads cutting through fields, the team arrived in Bungu Village to a reception few could forget.

Women dressed in golden garments stood ready with tree branches traditionally reserved among the Luo for blessing and welcome. The air came alive with ululations, sacred song, rhythmic drumming, and dancing. It was impossible to remain spectators. The Holy Cross team stepped out of the vehicles and joined the great procession, carried along by the rhythm of the drums and the sacred hymns of blessing.

It was a moment of profound symbolism. The divine drum became more than an instrument; it became the heartbeat of a people. In the graceful movement of bodies, and branches lifted high, and in the joy of the gathered faithful, the mission of Christ was made visible.

The hospitality that followed spoke just as powerfully. Organic yams, tea served in humble plastic mugs, and simple sachets of powdered milk became signs of generous love. In a grass-thatched visitors’ shelter, the Holy Cross team shared laughter and conversation with the community. In that simplicity, communion flourished.

A key moment of the day was an address by the Provincial Superior, Rev. Fr. Peter Caxton Mayanja, C.S.C., who reflected on the 186-year missionary history of Holy Cross. From its origins in Le Mans, France, the mission has continued with fidelity and zeal, bearing fruit across the world and now in Koch Goma.

The presence of Holy Cross religious from various East African countries, together with drivers, collaborators, and lay faithful, offered living testimony to this missionary heritage.

The community’s response spoke even louder. Over the past four years, the people of Koch Goma have embraced the Holy Cross missionaries with extraordinary generosity, collaboration, and trust. On this day, their gifts of animals and cereals reflected a spirit of gratitude deeply rooted in faith. Their generosity recalled the Gospel image of Christ multiplying the loaves—an abundance born not of wealth, but of love.

The Eucharist: Source and Summit

The celebration of the Eucharist became the true summit of the two-day mission. The liturgy was vibrant, prayerful, and deeply moving. The participation of the small Christian communities revealed the living continuity of the early Church described in Acts of the Apostles—a people gathered in prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of bread.

In Koch Goma, the Cross has indeed moved beyond borders from Le Mans to northern Uganda, and throughout East Africa. What began as a missionary dream now resounds in this local Church as a living testimony of divine providence.

A Mission That Continues

These two days in Koch Goma were far more than the closing of a Year of Mission. They were an important reminder that the mission is not first about structures, programs, or journeys across difficult roads. Mission is about encountering Christ in the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, and in communities whose faith continues to sing even in hardship.

Lives have been touched. Hearts have been renewed. Hope has been restored.

The people of St. André Bessette Catholic Parish in Koch Goma have shown that the rhythm of the divine drum is the rhythm of faith, sacrifice, communion, and enduring love.

As the Congregation of Holy Cross Province of East Africa concludes this Year of Mission, one truth remains clear: the Gospel continues to take root wherever people open their hearts to Christ.

Hail the Cross, our only hope.

Adapted from reflections by Rev. Fr. Berry Apire, C.S.C., 28 April 2026.