Meet Zachary Oburu Transitional Deacon

‘In love with the Lord’

By Peter Finney Jr.


Zachary Oburu grew up in a large Catholic family in Tororo, Uganda. He was the eighth of nine children, and then when his mother died in 1995 when he was 6 years old, his father remarried and had three more children.


“Our family was heavily involved in the church, so I got the chance to get involved with church activities such as serving Mass,” Oburu said. “I was an altar server from fifth grade onward. Through altar serving, I fell in love with the priesthood, and I wanted to be like my pastor. My mother also used to encourage me a lot because she spoke a lot about me becoming a priest. She always said, ‘We keep praying for you.’”


The Dutch missionary priest who served as pastor of St. Theresa Church encouraged Oburu to join the diocesan preparatory seminary at age 12. Oburu said this afforded him a “warm-up” place to see if he might go on to the high school seminary, which he did.


After six years, Oburu then enrolled in St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary for an initial three years of training, which he completed with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a diploma in social and philosophical studies. In 2012, Oburu’s bishop sent him to Notre Dame Seminary to complete his theological training, following in the footsteps of many other Ugandan seminarians.


“I knew many of our priests had studied here,” Oburu said. “I love everything about New Orleans except the humidity. We have an equatorial climate (in East Africa), so there’s really not that kind of humidity. It took me awhile to get used to it.”


Oburu said he has been warmly welcomed by his fellow seminarians and the Notre Dame faculty and staff. He’s also developed a close relationship with Jerry Christopher, a member of the rock band Bag of Donuts, who invited him to his home. One night, Oburu played the piano, Christopher played the bass guitar and Christopher’s father played the acoustic guitar together.


“Right now all I am thinking and praying about is to be prepared spiritually to receive the gifts of ordination,” Oburu said. “Then, after that, I pray about becoming a very good priest, a very holy, trustworthy and loving priest. I want to be a good priest in love with the Lord and dedicated to my priestly duties.”- See more at: http://clarionherald.info/clarion/index.php/news/latest-news/155-breaking-news/4477-five-men-order-their-lives-to-christ#sthash.Gjc57HUX.dpuf