With the recent death of Archbishop Emeritus Paul Kamuza Bakyenga, it has come to light that he will be buried at Nyamitanga Cathedral in Mbarara District instead of his home.
According to Catholic tradition, Bishops are to be buried in crypts below the cathedrals they served. All over the world, crypts are built to honour the practises of the Catholic Church. Only Bishops who served in that particular cathedral are worthy of being buried in that crypt.
In Uganda, we have witnessed the burial of Bishops in Cathedrals, starting with Archbishop Dr. Cyprian Lwanga, who was the third bishop to be buried inside the Lubaga Cathedral. First in the queue was George Edward Michaud, who died on June 18, 1945, at the age of 60. He had served as bishop in Uganda in 1932.
The second bishop to be buried in the same Cathedral is Joseph Nakabale Kiwanuka, who was the first African Catholic bishop. He was the Archbishop of Lubaga Cathedral until his death on February 22, 1966.
According to the Parish Priest of Christ the King Church, Msgr. Gerald Kalumba, bishops have the privilege of being buried in the church they were serving unless otherwise stated.
“Bishops have all the privileges to be buried in the churches where they have been the leaders, unless he has indicated otherwise in his will,” Kalumba says.
He says the practise of burying religious leaders inside the church is a long-held tradition, and many churches reserve underground spaces known as crypts for burial purposes.
“Cathedrals have a go-down where they take the dead and bury them. Even in Rome, the St. Basilica has a place where they bury the Popes,” he added.
The former Archbishop of Kampala, Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga Wamala, was supposed to be buried inside Lubaga Cathedral when he died in 1991; however, in his Will, he requested to be buried in the chapel of the Bakateyamba home in Nalukolongo.
In the St. Peter’s Basilica Chapel in Rome, out of 265 Popes, 143 have been buried in the Vatican.