With finely blended voices, a choir of Ugandan seminarians sang hymns in their native language Friday, bidding an a cappella farewell to Father Charles Justus Mutyaba.

Four of the seven seminarians from Uganda who attended the service sing hymns in their native language at Old St. Mary's Church. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        Father Mutyaba, a native of Kampala, Uganda, was associate pastor of Old St. Mary's Church in Over-the-Rhine. Friday's Mass of the Resurrection also included a number of Ugandan priests and deacons.

        Father Mutyaba, 45, died Jan. 26 of complications of pneumonia after an 11-day stay at University Hospital.

        Earlier on Friday, the students of St. Peter Claver Boy's Latin School said special prayers at the church for Father Mutyaba, who celebrated daily Mass with them.

        “He's been there every day for them to see and worship with and they identify with him,” Vivian Janson, principal of the school, said.

        After their prayers, the little boys, aged 5-8, clad in light blue oxford shirts, filed outside and listened as Ms. Janson told them that, “Father Charles, our friend, is sleeping,” and in the resurrection, “we will see our friend again.”

Mutyaba

        Then, they opened their small hands to release 20 white doves as a sign of “the Holy spirit leading Father Charles to his eternal home.”

        At the evening Mass, nearly every pew at Old St. Mary's was filled with those who came to pay their respects.

        The Archdiocese of Kampala sent Father Mutyaba to the University of Cincinnati to work on a master's degree in social services in September 2000. He would have returned to the East Central African country, probably to direct Catholic Social Services there.

        A priest for 20 years, Father Mutyaba worked mostly with orphans in Uganda. That country is rife with disease and economic problems after five years of war.

        He came from a troubled country to live in a troubled neighborhood. Father Mutyaba witnessed the riots in Over-the-Rhine last April.
       Father Charles Mutyaba died Jan. 26. While in Cincinnati to work on a master's degree, he was associate pastor at Old St. Mary's Church. He had worked closely with the boys of St. Peter Claver School, which is sponsored by the church.

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