{"id":235161,"date":"2026-11-12T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?p=235161"},"modified":"2026-11-04T16:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T15:25:02","slug":"oracion-y-vida-del-sacerdote-kenneth-orom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/oracion-y-vida-del-sacerdote-kenneth-orom\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abWithout prayer we can do nothing\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

This young priest from the Diocese of Jinja, Uganda, has numerous responsibilities in his pastoral mission: from managing communications for his diocese to providing spiritual guidance to the faithful in a dozen villages. However, he is very clear that none of these tasks would be possible without a deep life of prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A vocation that grew in the warmth of prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Father Kenneth Orom grew up in Uganda, in a Catholic family of five children. From a young age, his parents taught him to live his faith naturally. \u00abMy family was very devout, and I experienced it that way from childhood. We went to church every day. We also went to Mass on Sundays, and during the week, we attended whenever we could,\u00bb he recounts in this interview with CARF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That family environment was the first ground where his vocation began to grow. But there was also one person who left a special mark on him: the priest of his parish. His way of approaching people and transmitting the faith awakened in Kenneth an admiration that, over time, would become a calling. \u00abWe had a priest whom everyone loved. He inspired me a lot. In fact, my vocation began little by little when I started the classes preparing for my First Communion,\u00bb he recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His path took shape after finishing primary school, when he entered the minor seminary. Later he continued his seminar training<\/strong><\/a> major of his diocese. The vocation that had been born during childhood matured through years of study, prayer and discernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An experience of the universal Church<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, his bishop sent him to Spain to study Theology at the Bidasoa International Seminar<\/strong><\/a>, in Pamplona. He remained there until 2022. He has a particularly grateful memory of those years, not only for his studies, but also for meeting people from very different backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abI really enjoyed my time in Pamplona, because it was a new experience: meeting many people from different places and making many friends who came from other countries,\u00bb he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also highlights the role of those who accompanied him in his training: \u00abWe had very experienced trainers and university professors. The studies were very enriching and I really enjoyed my time there.\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His time in Spain ended in 2022, when he was ordained a deacon in August. A few months later, on February 18, 2023, he was ordained a priest. Thus began a new chapter: to bring all he had learned back to his diocese and put it at the service of the people entrusted to his care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pastoral mission full of responsibilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Kenneth serves as a priest in the Diocese of Jinja, Uganda. He is the Director of Communications and also serves as vicar at the cathedral, where he has pastoral responsibility for various communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This young priest acknowledges that his daily life is filled with work, meetings, and commitments. His pastoral work encompasses a dozen villages, and, as he explains, he can baptize about twenty children in a single month. In addition, he celebrates Mass and attends to the other needs of the faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faced with this reality, he is clear about what must come first. \u00abThe most important thing in the priestly life is prayer. Without prayer we can do nothing,\u00bb Kenneth affirms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She speaks from her experience in communications and diocesan offices. Work, meetings, and responsibilities can fill the day, but they shouldn't displace what gives meaning to ministry. \u00abIf we forget to pray, we forget what is most important,\u00bb she points out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For him, prayer is not just another obligation on his to-do list, but the foundation that allows him to live his priesthood meaningfully and face its challenges. Amidst so many tasks, he needs to find that daily space for encountering God, which helps him renew his commitment and remember for whom and by whom he works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A training that benefits the entire Church<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The needs of priests are not limited to the tasks they have to accomplish. They must also learn to respond to the challenges of each day without losing sight of their relationship with God. In Kenneth's case, the breadth of his pastoral work makes this inner unity especially necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His advice is simple and direct: \u00abTo face the dangers in life and the many challenges we encounter every day, the best thing we can do is have a deep prayer life.\u00bb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His testimony reminds us that priestly formation does not end with the years of study. What is learned in the seminary must translate into a life of dedication, capable of serving others, celebrating the sacraments, and responding to the needs of the Church. This requires intellectual preparation, human maturity, and a solid spiritual life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His experience in Pamplona continues to guide him in this very task. The knowledge he gained, the example of his mentors, and the time he spent with seminarians from different countries are all part of what he brought back to Uganda. There, in his own diocese, that formation is now being translated into concrete service. \u00abThe formation we received benefits the entire Church,\u00bb he acknowledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kenneth<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Church in Uganda, a growing community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work of priests like Kenneth takes place within a local Church with a significant presence in Ugandan society. According to 2025 statistics from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Uganda, the country has 19 dioceses and more than 20 million Catholics. The Diocese of Jinja, to which Father Kenneth belongs, has more than 736,000 faithful and comprises 44 parishes and 106 diocesan priests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures help us better understand the scope of the evangelizing and pastoral task that lies ahead for the Church in Uganda. Behind every parish and every community are people who need spiritual accompaniment, Christian formation, and access to the sacraments. To meet these needs, it is essential to have well-prepared priests, capable of uniting their pastoral commitment with a solid spiritual life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Kenneth thinks about those who made his studies in Spain possible, his gratitude goes beyond his personal story. He is aware that CARF's benefactors and the priests they support live in very different places, but are united by the same mission. \u00abNow CARF's benefactors are in another world, and I am in another world too. But I have learned a great deal about CARF and have received many benefits,\u00bb he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Kenneth, the benefactors' support extends beyond the classrooms of Pamplona. It also reaches the communities served by the priests trained through this foundation. Therefore, his gratitude has an ecclesial dimension: what is received is shared and bears fruit far beyond the individual recipient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abI thank God that the Church continues to have many priests who have received good training through the aid of CARF,\u00bb he concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story of Father Kenneth Orom is an example of how a priest's formation can bear fruit in places far removed from where he received it. From Pamplona to Uganda, this priest's journey demonstrates that properly forming those who serve the Church is also a way of accompanying thousands of the faithful. And, as he himself recalls, it all begins with the essential: a life of prayer that sustains the mission each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Table of Contents<\/h2>