John Yiga

Church of the Resurrection, Dubuque

Introduction/Tell things about you, your family, your Catholic journey

I am John Charles Yiga, a Ugandan and a Muganda by tribe. I was born on Sunday 3^rd September 1978 to Mr. Almaric Magatto Ssaka (R.I.P) and Mrs. Joyce Christine Ssaka in Kawanda Village, Wakiso District of Uganda.

I am the First born in a family of 4 boys and 4 girls in the order: John Charles Yiga, Kizito Mateega, Richard Sserukweya, Amansi Bukenya, Claire Nayiga and Gonzaga Birabwa Namuyiga, Nalwanga Christine (R.I.P), Ndibazza Angella Ssubi. My Parents got married in the Catholic Church in 1978 at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Parish Jinja Karoli and it has been here that we have all been baptized. My Grandparents, Mr. John Baptist Musoke (R.I.P) and Mrs. Agatha Musoke (R.I.P) were prominent benefactors in the founding of this Parish by the White Fathers in 1960. For more than 80 years my Grandparents lived at Kawanda, and it is from here that most of our Family History can be traced. I grew up in a very large extended family of Uncles, Aunties and Cousins. We have been farmers for generations, and I learned the value of hard work right from my Grandparents and Parents.

I attended Kisubi Minor Seminary (1992-1995) for my Ordinary Secondary Education and St. Josephs Senior Secondary School-Naggalama (1997-1998) for Advanced secondary Education. I was admitted to St. Thomas Aquinas National Major Seminary at Katigondo in Masaka District in September 1999 to study Philosophy. The Seminary was then affiliated to the Makerere University Kampala and here I completed my studies with a Second Upper Bachelor of Arts in Social and Philosophical studies in 2002. My undergraduate Research Project was about: ‘The Contribution of the Home and School Environment to the Education of a Stepchild- a psychosocial perspective’.

After a successful completion of my bachelor’s degree in Philosophy at this Seminary, I was given an opportunity to teach sciences at Kisubi Minor Seminary where I had been appointed for a one-year Pastoral Experience Program.

In July 2003 I received a scholarship from the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of Faith (Propaganda Fide) and my Bishop then, His Eminence Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala sent me to Rome to study Theology. I studied at The Pontifical Urbaniana University and resided at the Pontificio Collegio Urbano where I received seminary formation. My stay in Rome was a great opportunity to learn the Italian language, to visit the historic holy sites, to interact and make many international friends in a multicultural setting. In 2006 I completed my Bachelor’s in Theology with a Magna Cum Laude.

I studied German at Akademie Klausenhof in Hamminkeln, Germany during the summer holiday of 2006.

When I returned to Uganda from Rome in July 2007, I was requested to accompany an elderly priest Fr. Irenaeus Kasibante (R.I.P) to Chennai India for heart surgery. When we returned to Uganda, Fr. Irenaeus requested that I remain his Personal Care Assistant in addition to doing other duties assigned to me by the Parish Priest at my home Parish of Jinja Karoli.

In September 2008 after my Theology studies and Pastoral Experience, I discerned out of the Seminary, and I enrolled for postgraduate studies at Nkumba University in Uganda. I earned a Master’s in Education Management and Planning in 2012 and my Dissertation was about Teacher Induction and Mentoring Programs in Uganda.

I worked for the Uganda Government as an Election Officer from 2010 while still at university, until 2015 shortly before coming to the USA.

In August 2015 I was admitted to Boston College to do advanced studies at the School of Theology and Ministry. After not so long I dropped out of college when my financial sponsor's commitment was withdrawn due to disruptions in his businesses during the turbulent 2016 Presidential Elections in Uganda.

Since August 2015 until August 2021, I have worked for many Nursing Homes and Senior Living Communities in Massachusetts and Iowa as a Caregiver, helping Seniors with their activities of daily living. After studying and working many jobs, I applied to join the Archdiocese of Boston in 2016 as a seminarian but to no avail. I also applied to join the Catholic Diocese of Klerksdorp in the Republic of South Africa in 2017 and I was admitted but I could not go there due to travel restrictions. In 2018 I came to Dubuque, Iowa following a Ugandan friend who works with the US Army as a Medic, and I felt welcomed, so I stayed. I was able to find work and to make new friends.

Apart from caregiving, in 2019 I got my Commercial Driver’s License Class A and drove Semi-Trucks for Cedar Rapids Steel Transporters (CRST).

From July 2019 to February 2021, I was a Driver/Patient Services Technician for Rotech Healthcare in Dubuque, Iowa. In this job role I learned how to maintain Oxygen Concentrators and how to set up Oxygen equipment and other durable medical equipment in Patients’ homes.

In February 2021 I was told about the opportunity to get back to the Seminary and I approached my Pastor at Resurrection Parish in Dubuque, Fr. Phil Gibbs who introduced me to the Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Fr. Jon Seda. That is how I ended up getting affiliated to the Archdiocese of Dubuque and joining Mundelein Seminary since August 2021 in 3^rd Year Theology, to discern what the Lord wants me to do with my life.

In my free time I like reading stories for children, playing Bingo and solving puzzles with Seniors, watching TV (News and Sports), cooking for others, visiting places, volunteering in the community etc. Apart from the Holy Mass, the Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Praise & Worship are my other favorite forms of prayer.

Where/when did your sense of call develop?

For every person who is called to a given vocation of life, God acts in real places, people, events and circumstances to make this invitation clear at a particular time in the life of the person invited. My call happened in a similar way, too. In my family my father was very prayerful. He used to wake us up very early in the morning to pray as a family and everybody had to participate actively. It was customary to say the Holy Rosary every day and to go for Holy Mass every Sunday. He had moments of private prayers during the day as he went about with his work in the gardens while my siblings and I had gone to school. My mother was formerly a member of the Anglican Church of Uganda, she embraced the Catholic faith before getting married to my father. The rest of my extended family were Catholics, and my grandparents were very active in church affairs at our parish. My parents continued with this active service in the church as leaders in the choir, ministry for the sick, bereavement apostolate, Married Catholic Ministry etc. I have studied in Catholic schools all through my life. For some reason both at home and at school I have always been assigned religious roles by my parents and my schoolmates.

The roots of my call to priesthood can be traced in my devoted Catholic family and my Catholic education. I have grown up in Catholic environments and in my elementary school we used to go to the Parish every Friday for Holy Mass as the entire school, learners and teachers. I was enrolled as an Altar server at Holy Mass when I was 10 years old. This gave me direct access to the people whom I had always admired from a distance, the Priests. I started serving them at Holy Mass and on some days, I would go with the Priests to the outstations when they had to visit the sick, celebrate Holy Mass or just to visit distant parishioners. My friends and I used to spend our weekends doing various chores at the parish, anything that the Priests wanted to be done. We cleaned the church and the Rectory, maintained the flower gardens, trained to serve at Mass the next day and did choir practice.

The Priests I have encountered in my life have been men of admirable repute, well educated, service oriented and pastorally grounded in their ministry. The life of the men who have left everything else that the world has to offer and decided to dedicate their entire lives to the service of God’s people has always attracted my admiration. I have always been fascinated by the greatest miracle that happens during Holy Mass when the Priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to descend on the Altar and graciously sanctify the offerings of bread and wine, that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The miracle of making Jesus available every day for the spiritual nourishment of God’s people is an aspect of the priest’s life that feels me with great joy.

In 1992 at the age of 14, I was already fired up to join the seminary and embark on the formation process to become one of God’s Miracle Workers. I have had the opportunity to serve in the public and secular environments, but the most fulfilling years of my life have been those I have spent doing church work. I have no doubt in my mind that God is calling me to be a disciple for the kingdom of God, it is here that I feel I belong and find meaning and fulfillment in life.

Were you inv ited by others to enter seminary?

Yes, I was invited by my Parish Priest. I have grown in and around the church in my home parish in Uganda. I consciously recognized my admiratio n for Priests during my primary school. The desire to join the seminary and begin the long journey to priesthood was strengthened at the age of 10 years when I began serving at the Altar during Holy Mass. Together with my friends we used to spend our entire weekends at the Parish, cleaning the Church, landscaping the compound of the Rectory, training Altar Servers, doing Choir practice etc. In 1991 when our Parish Priest told us about the opportunity to join the Seminary, I was more than ready, and I embarked on the long journey to pursue the priesthood.

What was your main motivation in pursuing your call?

I desire to share my life, faith and giftedness with others. I find joy in praying for and with others and helping other people without distinction. When I read the Scriptures, I often picture myself preaching to a listening congregation. I find joy in helping the poor, the sick, the elderly and other categories of marginalized people in society. The time I have spent doing Church-work has been more fulfilling than anything else I have done in my life. I have nothing to hold me back, no special attachment to anything or anybody and I desire to give my life to God completely and wholeheartedly. The idea and thought that I am being called to priesthood evokes an inner joy and excitement in me and a conviction that this call may be the path God intends for me.

Who were/are your biggest influences?

In Africa in general and Uganda in particular, it takes a village to raise a child. I am greatly indebted to many people who have raised me that I find myself hesitant to single out names. I am the outcome of the untiring effort to groom with love and a lot of patience by my parents, family, teachers, mentors, benefactors and friends. All the Priests and Religious I have met in my life have had lasting impressions on me. In this little space I cannot do justice to the people who have made me who I am. Just talking about Fr. Vincent Wasswa, my High School Chaplain alone, would fill up this space!!!

What advice would you give other men who are discerning their call?

Pray without tiring, ask God to help you discover your unique talents and gifts, your special and specific charism that the world cannot have from anyone else but only you. Once you have discovered who you are and your specific mission or call, give yourself without reservation to the process of formation. Take your studies seriously and as you search for the Lord in your academic, spiritual and related pursuits, endeavor not to lose touch with the reality of daily Christian living which is, service with charity for the less privileged in society. The journey might take longer on the murky and sometimes lonely path of discernment but count with childlike trust on God’s grace to see you through it all. Do your best to cultivate healthy friendships amongst your peers and other people you will meet in life, each of them in addition to your family can be a fallback person in time of great need. Be happy, live with hope in God’s goodness. Present your nothingness to Jesus that He may make it the next miracle.