The Soroti Catholic Diocese has postponed the planned homecoming celebration for Bishop Simon Peter Engurait, the Ugandan-born bishop of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana, because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Uganda.
Bishop Engurait had been scheduled to make his first visit to Uganda since his installation as bishop in the United States on Sept. 5, 2025.
The celebration was planned for June 19 at St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Ngora District and was expected to attract more than 10,000 Christians and over 200 priests from across the Soroti Catholic Diocese.
In a statement released by Msgr. Robert Ecogu, the vicar general of the Soroti Catholic Diocese, church leaders said the recent rise in Ebola cases had disrupted the program.
“Given the prevailing health circumstances and alerts that continue to unfold every day, Bishop Simon Peter Engurait will not be able to travel to Uganda as scheduled,” the statement said. “We cannot celebrate his homecoming yet, until the country is declared Ebola-free and we are able to reschedule his visit.”
Ecogu urged Christians to continue preparations and fundraising efforts linked to the homecoming celebrations.
“This is the time now for us to mobilize aggressively for resources to enable us to complete at least the foundation works of the two memorial structures: Bishop Eciru Dormitory at Ngora Demonstration Primary School and Bishop Engurait Pavilion at the Diocesan Events Grounds,” he said.
Bishop Engurait is the second Ugandan to be appointed bishop outside Uganda, after Bishop Joseph Mary Kizito of Aliwal in South Africa.
Born on Aug. 28, 1971, in Ngora District, Engurait attended St. Peter Minor Seminary in Soroti and later St. Peter’s College in Tororo. He earned a degree in political science and public administration from Makerere University and later obtained a master’s degree in business administration from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.
After moving to the United States, he studied theology at Notre Dame Seminary, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained a priest in 2013 for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana.
Before becoming bishop, Engurait served in several leadership roles, including parish vicar, parish priest of St. Bridget Parish, moderator of the Curia, vicar general and diocesan administrator.
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux covers about 3,500 square miles in Louisiana and serves a population of more than 257,000 people, including about 75,000 Catholics.
Church leaders said they remain hopeful that the homecoming celebration can be rescheduled once Uganda is declared free of Ebola.
