While the Cathedral of Fort Portal Diocese is commonly known as Virika Cathedral, its official name is Our Lady of the Snows Virika Cathedral. This name owes its origin to Fr. Auguste  Achte, alka Pere Achte of the Missionaries of Africa, (White Fathers), who was the first Catholic missionary to Western Uganda. Fr. Achte set off from Buddu in Buganda and arrived in Tooro in November 1895. In reverence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the White Fathers, and Pere Achte in particular, would name the missions they established after Her (Blessed Virgin Mary). For example, Pere Achte founded two missions as he moved westward. He named one – Our Lady of Protection ‘Bukuumi bwa Maria’ at Bukuumi and the other he named Our Lady of Salvation ‘Bujuni bwa Maria’ at Bujuni. Upon reaching and standing at Kiryantaama hill, where he was to establish new mission, Achte was struck by the sight of snow on top of the Rwenzori Mountains; and marvelled at the wonders of God’s creation. He chose to name this new found mission “Our Lady of the Snows”. When he asked for the Rutooro word

for snow, he was told ‘Birika’ and he mistakenly wrote down ‘Maria wa Virika’ instead of Maria w [‘e] a Birika. Henceforth Virika became the name of both the hill and the mission. It is a cathedral because of being the principal church of the diocese and holding the seat of the bishop. The first church of Our Lady of the Snows was built at Virika and dedicated in 1908. Upon creation of the Diocese of Fort Portal in 1961, it became the cathedral of the diocese. In 1966, Tooro was shaken by a high magnitude earthquake that destroyed infrastructure and the cathedral was not spared. That unfortunate disaster led to the construction of a new, more magnificent and stronger cathedral in 1967-68. It is a state of the art and unique architectural piece of work. Apart from the architectural design, Virika Cathedral has many original art pieces and monumental elements which make it a sight to behold!

Renovations of Virika Cathedral

Since its construction in 1967 and dedication in 1968, Virika Cathedral has had three major repairs – in 1987, 2004 and 2024 all occasioned by leakage of the roof. The last repairs in 2024 involved a complete overhaul and modification of the roof structure, replacement of the floor and doors as well as adding new elements. Five years after its completion in 1973, sh7,000 was spent on repainting, vanishing, replacing lights, locks and blocks on pathways, washing the dirty lights, fixing opening joints and frames. The roof which used to leak, especially when it rained heavily, was earmarked for repairs at a later time.

By 1982, the leaking roof had become such an urgent matter of concern that a select committee of eminent people was constituted, headed by the Parish Priest of the cathedral, Rev. Fr. Francis Asiimwe to handle the matter. The committee was charged with mobilising sh3,000,000 which had been asked by Fr. Richard Wunch as the amount necessary to accomplish all the work. The committee, however, could not raise the amount because of the prevailing economic situation at the time. Consequently, in 1985, the bishop commissioned his Vicar General, Msgr. Thomas Kisembo travelled to the United States of America to fundraise for the cathedral’s roof. About $50,000 was realised through this initiative and the renovation work was done in 1987 after the war of 1985-86. This work, which was done by Fr. Wunch, consisted of replacing the original roof cover material and repairing the storm-water drainage pipes. This was the first major repair that was done on the cathedral since its construction. However, the problem of the leaking roof later reoccurred and constant maintenance repairs became the norm for a number of years. By 2002, it was imperative that the cathedral roof be thoroughly repaired as it was in a sorry state. This called for another major intervention. The diocese was going through a critical moment of transition, as the Bishop Paul Kalanda was almost hitting his canonical retirement age. Kalanda started the work, which was completed by his successor, Bishop Robert Muhiirwa. It was an expensive project that required mobilising the diocese community for funds. The roof-cover and the timber ceiling were replaced. A metallic arch was also introduced in front of the main

entrance of the church. However, the repairs did not last longer than 10 years. By 2014 the cathedral roof needed renovation because it was leaking again and this time to worrying degree. Constant maintenance interventions became more intensive and later unsustainable.

By 2019 the repair of Our Lady of the Snows cathedral was imperative: when it rained pools

of water accumulated in various parts and the confessionals were rendered unusable.

In 2021 Bishop Muhiirwa announced the need for the community to repair Virika Cathedral and urged the diocesan community and well-wishers to generously give to the noble cause.

Having drawn lessons from earlier experiences, it was deemed necessary to apply professionalism in the manner the work was to be done, to seriously investigate and address the cause of the leaking roof.

The questions addressed were:

• Why did the previous repairs fail to fix the proble5m once and for all?

• Where could we have gone wrong in our earlier interventions?

• What must we do to fix the problem regardless of how hard it might be?

In 2020, Muhiirwa set up three committees to undertake the task. These were: the steering committee to do the oversight role, the construction committee to do the technical advisory role and the fundraising and finance committee for mobilising, managing and accounting for the funds for the work. A project secretary was recruited

duly established and equipped for the work. The procurement and evaluation ad hoc committees were later brought on board. The renovation works this time involved a total

overhaul and redesign of the roof to channel the water flow, the introduction of eight buttressed columns and arches around the cathedral, scrapping and replacing the entire floor. There was also the replacement of the timber ceiling, doors, pavements on the veranda and

walkways around the cathedral and introduction of an ambo, a heat insulator and security cameras. All this cost sh3.6b

Note of gratitude

Having worked hard to realise this important dream, it is fitting to give thanks to God who has made it possible and to extend gratitude to all the people who have made great contributions at different levels. I will mention just a few: The Bishop who obviously played the leading role, the President of Uganda, who gave the first substantial contribution. the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and Parliament of Uganda, the Christians of Fort Portal who have made enormous contributions through their parishes and all the individual and corporate entities who have contributed generously towards our project. A complete list will be published later. Also worthy of gratitude are members of the steering committee which I have been privileged to lead. They are: Arch. Enoch Kibbamu and Dr. Patrick Birungi who would commute from Kampala to attend our many meetings, Eng. Adolf Kahuma who did so much as head of the construction committee, but later fell sick and could not complete with us, Eng.  Deo Katekere who later chaired the construction committee and went an extra mile with enviable commitment, Fr. Tadius Musabe who was also appointed as the client representative, Fr. Paschal Kabura, Fr. Gerald Akugizibwe and Hon. Alex Ruhunda who chaired the finance and fundraising committee. Ms Linda Birungi our project secretary also did a wonderful job.

The construction committee members were: Eng. Adolf Kahuma, Eng. Deo Katekere, Fr. Titus Winyi, the Parish Priest and rector of the cathedral, Eng. Asaba Lawrence, Eng. James Burolerro, Fr. John Tumuhairwe and Ms. Christine Kabanyaka. And the Procurement Committee was composed of: Eng. Lawrence Asaba, Fr. Joseph Musana, Ms. Christine Kabanyaka, Eng. Adolf Kahuma, Mr. Christopher Kayonga and Fr. Titus Winyi. The evaluation committee was composed of Mr. Christopher Kayonga, Eng. Lawrence Asaba, Mr. Stephen Mugabo, Ms. Christine Kabanyaka and Eng. Deo Katekere. All these people did a fantastic job and deserve all our gratitude. The finance committee comprised Hon. Alex Ruhunda, Fr. Edward Muhumuza, Fr. Charles Oyo and Dr. Patrick Birungi who worked tirelessly to raise the funds we needed. We owe them gratitude. Archdesign Company Limited has been our project manager and it was represented by Richard Turyahabwe, an architect who has played a pivotal role in the project. The entire team of Arch design has worked well with us. Finally, our design and build contractor, Ambitious Construction Company Limited has delivered quality work and in time. They, too, deserve our thanks for the job well done.