Pope Leo XIV has appointed Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire, M.Afr., a member of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers), as the new Bishop of Kabale Diocese, ushering in a new era of leadership for the Catholic faithful in southwestern Uganda.
The appointment was officially announced on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Good Shepherd Rushoroza Cathedral Parish in Kabale Municipality by Rev. Fr. Georges Kwami Kouwonou, who is overseeing the affairs of the Apostolic Nunciature in Uganda.
Addressing thousands of faithful gathered at the cathedral, Rev. Fr. Kouwonou also announced that Pope Leo XIV had accepted the resignation of Rt. Rev. Callist Rubaramira from the pastoral care of Kabale Diocese after more than two decades of episcopal service.
According to the Vatican, the Holy Father has appointed Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire, who has been serving as Rector of the St. Martin of Tours Formation House in Ejisu, Ghana, as the new Bishop of Kabale Diocese.
Bishop-elect Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire was born on March 3, 1974, in Kitumba, Kabale District, within the Diocese of Kabale. He attended St. Paul’s Minor Seminary in Rushoroza before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the Philosophy Centre in Jinja and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the Institut Catholique de Toulouse in France.
He later joined the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) and was ordained a priest on August 10, 2003.
Over the past two decades, Bishop-elect Gubazire has served in several pastoral, academic and missionary roles across Africa, Europe and Asia. He began his priestly ministry as Parochial Vicar at Nossa Senhora de Fatima Parish in Murraça, Mozambique, where he also directed adult education programmes and served on the Council of the Missionaries of Africa in Mozambique.
He further undertook formation for formators and spiritual accompaniment at the Jesuit Spiritual Centre Le Châtelard in Lyon, France, before earning a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Milltown Institute of Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland.
Between 2010 and 2016, he served at the Lechaptois Formation House in Balaka, Malawi, as Professor, Dean of Studies, Acting Rector and Delegate for the Protection of Minors. He also completed a Biblical Formation Course at St. Anne’s Formation Centre in Jerusalem.
From 2016 to 2020, he pursued a Doctorate in Philosophy at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines, while serving as Coordinator and Chaplain of the Friends of Missionaries of Africa, a member of the Council of the Asia Section, and later Rector of Our Lady of Africa Formation House Seminary.
Since 2021, he has been Dean of Studies at Spiritan University College in Ejisu, Ghana. In 2023, he was appointed Rector of the St. Martin of Tours Formation House, and since 2025 has served as a member of the Provincial Council of the Ghana-Nigeria Province of the Missionaries of Africa.
The outgoing Bishop, Rt. Rev. Callist Rubaramira, was born on February 8, 1950, in Rubira Village, Kyanamira Sub-county, Kabale District, to Cyprian Kwigira and Seforoza Bamusibane. He attended St. Francis Kyanamira Primary School before joining St. Paul’s Seminary, Mutolere, for his O-Level education and Kitabi Seminary in Bushenyi for A-Level studies.
He later studied Philosophy at St. Thomas Aquinas National Major Seminary, Katigondo, and Theology at St. Mary’s National Seminary, Ggaba. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Theology, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Portland in Oregon, United States.
Bishop Rubaramira was ordained a deacon on December 29, 1974, and a priest on May 18, 1975, at Rushoroza Cathedral Parish. Before his appointment as bishop, he served the Diocese of Kabale in several capacities, including Parish Priest, Apostolic Vicar in Rukungiri, Secretary to the Bishop, Diocesan Chancellor, Treasurer and Financial Administrator.
Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop of Kabale Diocese on March 18, 2003, and he was installed on June 8, 2003. During more than 23 years of episcopal ministry, Bishop Rubaramira oversaw significant pastoral, educational and development initiatives that strengthened the Diocese of Kabale.
With Pope Leo XIV now accepting his resignation and appointing Bishop-elect Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire as his successor, the Diocese of Kabale begins a new chapter under a shepherd whose extensive pastoral, academic and missionary experience spans Mozambique, Malawi, Ghana, the Philippines, France, Ireland and the Holy Land.
