Missionaries of Africa priest succeeds Bishop Callist Rubaramira after 23 years of episcopal ministry
KAMPALA, Uganda, July 15, 2026 (CISA) – Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Callist Rubaramira from the pastoral care of Kabale Diocese in Uganda and appointed Rev. Fr. Bonaventure Bosco Gubazire, M.Afr., as his successor.
The appointment was announced on July 15 by the Vatican Press Office and the Apostolic Nunciature in Uganda. Until his appointment, Bishop-elect Gubazire was serving as Rector of St. Martin of Tours Formation House in Ejisu, Ghana.
The resignation of Bishop Rubaramira was accepted in accordance with Canon 401 §1 of the Code of Canon Law after he reached the age limit for diocesan bishops.
In a communiqué signed by Rev. Fr. Georges Kwami Kouwonou, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Apostolic Nunciature in Uganda, the Holy See congratulated the bishop-elect and invoked God’s abundant blessings upon his episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Kabale.
“The Apostolic Nunciature desires to congratulate the new Bishop and invokes abundant blessing upon his pastoral ministry in that local Church,” the communiqué states.
The Nunciature also paid tribute to Bishop Rubaramira for his dedicated service over the past 23 years.
“The Apostolic Nunciature further expresses its gratitude to Rt. Rev. Callistus Rubaramira for his generous and dedicated service during these twenty-three years as the Bishop of Kabale (2003-2026),” the statement says.
Bishop Rubaramira will continue serving as Apostolic Administrator of Kabale Diocese until Bishop-elect Gubazire takes canonical possession of the diocese.
Born on March 3, 1974, in Kitumba within Kabale Diocese, Bishop-elect Gubazire studied at St. Paul’s Minor Seminary, Rushoroza, before obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the Philosophy Centre in Jinja. He later pursued theological studies at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse in France.
He joined the Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as the White Fathers, and was ordained a priest on August 10, 2003.
His priestly ministry has spanned several countries across Africa, Europe and Asia.
He began his missionary work in Mozambique as assistant parish priest at Nossa Senhora de Fatima Parish in Murraça while also directing adult education programmes in Murraça and Caia. Between 2005 and 2007, he served on the Council of the Missionaries of Africa in Mozambique.
Seeking further formation, he undertook studies in the formation of formators and spiritual accompaniment at Centre Spirituel Jésuite Le Châtelard in Lyon, France, before earning a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Milltown Institute of Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland.
From 2010, he served in Malawi as professor and dean of studies at Lechaptois Formation House in Balaka, later becoming interim rector and delegate for the protection of minors for the Malawi Section of the Missionaries of Africa.
In 2014, he attended biblical studies at St. Anne’s Formation Centre in Jerusalem before completing a doctorate in philosophy at the University of San Carlos in Cebu, Philippines.
While in the Philippines, he served as coordinator and chaplain of the Friends of Missionaries of Africa, member of the Asia Section Council, and rector of Our Lady of Africa Formation House Seminary.
Since 2021, Bishop-elect Gubazire has served in Ghana as dean of studies at Spiritan University College. In 2023, he was appointed rector of St. Martin of Tours Formation House in Ejisu, and in 2025 became a member of the Provincial Council of the Ghana-Nigeria Province of the Missionaries of Africa.
Kabale Diocese now prepares to welcome one of its own sons as its sixth bishop, succeeding Bishop Rubaramira, who has shepherded the diocese since 2003.
