The History and Mission of The Divine Master Missionaries

Bishop Caesar Asili saw the need for a Religious Clerical Missionary Institute in answer to the secular challenges of the modern times against the Christian faith. First, as Schools Supervisor of in the early 1960’s and a student at Makerere University where he offered Education Programme, Rev. Fr. Caesar Asili witnessed and experienced the pungent effects of the Government policy of taking over the control of Schools from the Missionary founders. Christian religious teaching and morals weakened in the national education system, with foreseeable dire consequences for the ethical values and practices in the society. Marxist atheistic and materialistic ideology was steadily and systematically growing among the educated elite who would be the leaders of society. The triumph of such irreligious ideas and values would mean moral decadence and corruption of treasured human values that would surely kill societal conscience.

It was to neutralize, reverse, correct and prevent such a dangerous development that the foundation of a religious teaching Institute was conceived; her members are to throw their weight and influence in the education system at all levels and instill the healthy and health-giving principles of Christ in the minds, hearts and integral lives of the educated youth whose influence in society is immense. This is the historical context that gives meaning to the foundation of MIDM as a Clerical Religious Institute whose Charism and Mission in the Educational field as its peculiar and proper mode of pastoral work and this Mission statement defines and gives reason for the existence of MIDM. The Charism of the Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master is:

Following Jesus The Divine Master: Who is The Way, The Truth, The Life, and The Light.

On the 8th December 1971, Bishop Caesar Asili approbated the Constitutions of the Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master. He then began to gather around himself some young men who were to be trained and formed for Missionary work. He officially opened the Novitiate of the MIDM on the 8th of June 1980 on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, with six (6) young men.

Like any other developed Religious Institute, the foundation of the Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master has received criticism left and right, particularly from those who perhaps do not believe that the Spirit of the Lord works through any one He chooses. However, the confidence and trust Bishop Caesar Asili had in God made it possible for him to stir through these waves of criticisms. As he had said in his poem entitled “We Two” which he wrote in 1938 when he was still a Seminarian:

Such was the confidence and trust in Jesus Christ, which Caesar Asili, only a Seminarian then, had. He was able to face and endure many problems and hardships during his life at that stage and, later, as an ordained minister of the Church, because of his trust in God and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He instilled the same spirit in the members of the Missionariesof Jesus the Divine which he founded, which also made it possible for some of them to persevere in the face of untold challenges, especially after his death.

In regard to the constitution, Bishop Asili wrote for his religious missionaries to be , which he submitted to the Holy sea, The sacred congregation thus observed: “the Spiritual element of the text is good, like that of the Institute itself, regarding both the religious basis and Apostolic or Missionary orientation and purpose (General observation No.6).

From October 1990 up to December 24th, 1994, the MIDM operated in Arua Diocese as a Private Association. The Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master was formally established in Arua on the 25th December 1994, when His Lordship, Bishop Frederick Drandua, issued the canonical approbation of the Constitution and erected the MIDM a Public Association. The Bishop however restricted the MIDM to operate in Arua Diocese only, with a ban on recruitment from outside the Diocese as the Association was under his personal observation, let alone the fact that the necessary facilities for formation were not yet in place.

In 1997, the MIDM acquired land at Ragem-Euata near Arua Town. The acquisition of the land at Ragem made it possible for the administration to initiate the establishment of the Generalate/Formation house. The successful establishment of the said house was a visible structural achievement that reflected the internal capacity building of MIDM. This encouraged and prompted the Bishop to lift the restriction he had put with regard to recruitment of Aspirants for the MIDM. Thus, on the 3rd of September 1999, he amended the Decree of Erection when he said, “by this same Decree I empower the Association to recruit aspiring Candidates not only within Arua Diocese but also outside Arua Diocese” (Protocol No. BFD/69/99). By the authority of the same letter, he allowed MIDM to carry out formation of their Candidates in accordance with the approved Constitutions.

The amendment of the Decree of Erection was a positive development for the Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master. It opened the way for those who had finished their formation in Lira Diocese but did not profess to do so. Thus, in the year 2000, one priest made his temporary profession while two others made their final profession in the in the Association. In the year 2003, Novitiate was established in Arua Diocese at Ragem and thereafter, profession of religious vows has been an annual event.

In January 2000, the Divine Master Missionaries undertook there first missionary work outside Arua Diocese when request was made by Rt. Rev. Philip Anyolo, the first Bishop of Kericho Diocese, Kenya. Two Missionaries were sent to work in Kericho Diocese. The two Missionaries carried out their missionary apostolate very well up to the end of the year 2007, when they were withdrawn back home to work in the Generalate and Formation house of the MIDM, respectively, because of urgent priority needs. The very small number of MIDM could not allow having the two Missionaries replaced. So, the General Council, in consultation with the Bishop of Arua and that of Kericho Diocese, temporarily terminated the mission in Kericho Diocese, hoping to be able to resume sometime later when the critical personnel position of the Divine Master Missionaries improved.

The Missionaries of Jesus the Divine Master now serve in several parishes and Institutions of Learning including Pakele Parish, Indriani Rectorate, St. John Bosco Primary Teachers’ College, Oleba Parish, Ragem Parish,Dzaipi Parish, Eruba Parish, St JOseph the worker Bukondo Parish in Bunda diocese in Tanzania , St.Mary's Lake Zone Chaplaincy, Mwanza Diocese in Tanzania, Bukoba Diocese' Tanzania, Radio Pacis, Muni University, Uganda National Institute of Teacher Education and Uganda Spiritual Formation Center of Association of Religious in Uganda (ARU). The members serve as Pastors,parochial vicars, Assistant Vicars, teachers, tutors,counselors, lecturers, instructors, Chaplains, Administrators and Formators.

Our Work and Mission

The specific work which the Divine Master Missionaries are engaged in is the pastoral responsibility of Christian Education which they carry out through any Institute of learning and the MIDM members are: Teachers, Tutors, Professors, Chaplains, Spiritual directors and respond to any need of the Church whenever possible and as the need may be. To be able to carry out the specific work, the General Council ensures that members are prepared to obtain Diploma in Education, besides other discipline. This makes them to be professional Teachers, Tutors and Professors.

• Chaplaincy
• Education
• Mass Media / Social Communication
• Parishes

See Our Locations:

Along the road to Muni University, 200m from the main road