Bishop Engurait of Houma-Thibodaux encourages local diaspora to imitate the faith of St. Charles Lwanga and companions
PLYMOUTH — Bishop Simon Peter Engurait of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, La., celebrated Mass with the local Ugandan Catholic community and others at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth on May 30 and the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament on May 31.
The Ugandan native was consecrated the first African-born bishop of a U.S. diocese on Sept. 5, 2025, at the Stopher Gym at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux and has been traveling to celebrate Mass with the Ugandan Catholic diaspora in the lead-up to the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions on June 3.
During the Saturday evening Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Bishop Engurait spoke of the core message of the weekend's solemnity, Holy Trinity Sunday: God’s nature rooted in love.
“It is said that Trinity Sunday is a nightmare for homilists,” Bishop Engurait joked. “That is because homilists try to explain what is inexplicable. God is infinite; homilists are finite. The Trinity is not supposed to be explained; the Trinity is supposed to be marveled at.”
Reflecting on the Gospel reading (John 3:16-18), Bishop Engurit said the entire Christian witness boils down to the simple message that God wants His creation to love Him and love each other.
“The goodness of God wants the very best for us,” Bishop Engurait said. “So God, out of His goodness, sends us Jesus, His very best, so that we may not perish, but may have the gift of eternal life. And that eternal life, like God, is with us in good times and bad.”
Bishop Engurait juxtaposed the Gospel readings with the life and trials of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, who were martyred between 1885-87 by King Mwanga II of Buganda, many of whom were burned alive after refusing to renounce the Christian faith.
“Before He ascended, Christ to said to His disciples to go make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Engurait said. “And so began the mission of the Church. And 'all the nations' include Uganda. So the missionaries, out of the love of God, began to bring this good news to Uganda.”
Bishop Engurait said it can be difficult at times to understand the fate of the Ugandan martyrs, who were sent by God to preach the Gospel, but were killed for doing the will of God, many of them failing to travel where they were supposed to preach.
“In ways that are mind-blowing, many didn’t make it to their destinations,” Bishop Engurait said. “They died. And if you are short-sighted, you might ask, 'Why would they do that? Why would God allow His agents, the bearers of His good news, to die?' We can’t understand, but that is part of God’s goodness.
“So in a few years, because of the witness of the martyrs, the people of Uganda encountered God,” Bishop Engurait explained. “They encountered the love of God, Whose love is so high, you can’t get above it. Whose love is so deep, you can’t get under it. Whose love is so wide, they can’t get around it. And they fell in love.”
Bishop Engurait asked the assembly to reflect on the witness of the Ugandan martyrs, particularly during moments of crisis.
“I pray you all realize how much God loves you,” Bishop Engurait. “Secondly, to witness the example of the martyrs of Uganda, who sacrificed everything, indeed their own lives, for the love of God. May we be called to sacrifice what God asks of us for the gift of eternal life.”
Local Ugandan community welcomes a 'fruit of the witness of St. Charles Lwanga'
The Ugandan Catholic community from Michigan and other states in the Midwest was proud to welcome Bishop Engurait, the first African-born bishop of a U.S. diocese, during a dinner reception following Mass on May 30 at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish.
Henry Grace Mukasa, president of the Ugandan Catholic Community of Michigan, welcomed Bishop Engurait during an opening address to start the reception.
“Bishop Engurait, your presence here is a blessing as our shepherd,” Mukasa said. “You have come to strengthen us in faith and encourage us in hope and remind us that we are one body, one family in Christ. When we see you here in North America, we see the true seed of our faith back home in Uganda, St. Charles Lwanga and his companions. We thank you for taking time away from your duties to pray with us and share with us our life as a community.”
The reception included African-inspired meals, dancing and music, celebrating the rich cultural heritage of the Ugandan Catholic community, which they keep alive in their own parishes.
While the Ugandan Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Detroit doesn’t have a centralized parish, the community tends to organize regular gatherings at Our Lady of Good Counsel and Christ the King Parish in Detroit.
“This is not the first time Our Lady of Good Counsel has welcomed us; they have loved us, and we are so grateful to have them host us so many times,” said Fr. John Basco Ssekkomo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kampala, Uganda, who currently serves as chaplain at Corewell Health in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and is a chaplain for the Uganda Catholic Community of Michigan.
"I would like to be appreciative of the Ugandan community here, all the leadership and organizers, who are continuing the work of God in evangelizing and planting seeds of faith through the celebration of the Ugandan martyrs," Fr. Ssekkomo said. "Whenever we do this, we advance the ministry of Christ here on earth so that the other ones who are coming after us may find something to build off.”
Fr. Ssekkomo said it's more than just the blood of martyrs that grows the kingdom of God, but everything people do to pass the faith from one generation to the next, resulting in abundant fruit.
“(Bishop Engurait) is the first of those born on the African continent to come here and serve as a bishop in the United States; it’s a blessing and an opportunity to see the fruits of St. Charles Lwanga’s witness here with us today,” Fr. Ssekkomo said.
Vickie Figueroa, associate director of cultural ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said it was a tremendous joy for the local Church to share in the Ugandan Catholic community's joy and celebration.
“One of the reasons why I love the celebration for the Ugandan martyrs is because it celebrates people of extraordinary faith,” Figueroa said, “people who were willing to go that extra length for their faith that I think we’ve lost. I’m hoping such celebrations bring us back to the radical message and the radical footprint that Jesus Christ calls us to have, and that is really to go the extra length for our faith.”
Figueroa referenced “What We Have Seen and Heard,” a pastoral letter on evangelization released in 1984 by the Black bishops of the United States, on the rich contributions the African-American and African diaspora communities have given to the Church in the U.S.
“The bishops wrote that our spirituality is contemplative, holistic, communitarian — meaning that you cannot have faith without another. There is no such thing as just me and Jesus; it’s got to be us walking together along the way,” Figueroa said. “But the one thing I think we all have in common, African, African-American, and others, is our gift of joy. Joy is not just simple happiness. But joy is our consolation that in times of trouble, He will lead me.”
During his closing remarks, Bishop Engurait thanked the Ugandan Catholic Community for the warm reception, not just for the weekend in southeast Michigan, but since he arrived in the U.S. in 2025.
“I’ve often said, you go to seminary for six years to prepare to be a priest. To be a bishop, it’s a phone call,” Bishop Engurait said. “A phone call changed your life, and you have to pick up the pieces. One of the immediate things (for me) was preparing for the installation; I didn’t know where to go or what to do. But the way the Ugandan community, the African community in the diaspora, came together blew my mind. And for that reason, I’m grateful.”
Bishop Engurait concluded the evening by asking the Ugandan Catholic community to stay close to one another.
“Brothers and sisters, as we get together in support of one another on this journey of faith, remember that we do so not just to have fun, but to live the Christian witness together,” Bishop Engurait said. “We live to support one another, to reach out to a neighbor, to share in one another’s joys, to lighten each other's burdens as we journey to eternal life. Remember that this world is not our ultimate home; it’s with Him, in heaven. And so, celebrate the martyrs of Uganda, may their witness become a source of inspiration for each one of us.”
