Rt. Rev. Raphael P’mony Wokorach, the new Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese, who was appointed by Pope Francis to replace Archbishop John Baptist Odama, was born on January 21, 1961, in Ojigo Village, Wadelai in Arua district.

Archbishop Wokorach first attended his studies at Ragem Primary School and thereafter joined the minor seminary of SS Peter and Paul, Pokea-Arua, from 1975–1979. He later went to St. Joseph College Ombaci, Arua, for an Advanced Secondary School certificate from 1980–1982.

His Grace Wokorach, who decided to take the road of a spiritual shepherd, started the journey to begin serving God by joining the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus after completing the secondary school level.

Wokorach also pursued philosophy studies at Uganda Martyrs’ National Major Seminary Alokolum in Gulu, Uganda, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome.

He furthered his studies in Kenya, earning a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in 1994.

Archbishop Wokorach’s ministry Journey

His journey to priesthood was inspired by his experiences as an altar boy and the influence of Fr. John Troy, which led him to join the seminary and eventually become a bishop.

A servant who devoted his life to serving the Lord took his first vows with the order on April 29, 1989, and his perpetual vows on October 12, 1992. Subsequently, on September 25, 1993, he was ordained as a priest for the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus at Wadelai Parish in Arua Diocese by Bishop Martin Luluga.

From 1993-1994, the Archbishop-elect was a member of the Ugandan province while pursuing his Masters programme in Philosophy in CUEA. From 1994 to 2001, he travelled to Kisangani, DR Congo and served as Curate in a parish for a couple of years and later appointed as Formator in the Postulancy for candidates to the priesthood.

He was then transferred to work in Lome, Togo from 2001-2003 as Formator at the Brothers Postulancy. And from 2003-2007, he was transferred to Chicago, USA, as Formator in the Theologate.

From 2007-2015 he was taken to serve in Nairobi, Kenya, as Formator in the Theologate and lecturer at Tangaza University College where he served as Chair of the Governing Council of the College.

In the same period, he served as Vice Provincial of the Kenyan Province from 20O11-2013. From 2015-2018 he was appointed as Apostolic Visitator for the Institute of the Apostles of Jesus.

On June 21, 2018, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life appointed him Pontifical Commissary for the same Institute of the Apostles of Jesus.

His dedication and incredible work to build the body of Christ in the church led to his appointment as the Bishop of Nebbi, located in West-Nile, Uganda, by Pope Francis on March 31, 2021. He was consecrated as bishop on 14 August 2021 succeeding the Late Bishop Emeritus Sanctus Lino Wanok who retired on February 8, 2011.

At the time of his new appointment by Pope Francis on Friday, March 22, 2024, Archbishop Wokorach had been working as the Bishop of Nebbi Catholic Diocese.

According to the Uganda Catholics online platform, Wokorach will be replacing Archbishop Odama of the Gulu Archdiocese and will be the second Archbishop to serve the Gulu Archbishop.

The now-archbishop received warm congratulatory messages from prominent people, including the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa.

“Congratulations, Rt.Rev. Raphael Wokorach, upon being appointed by the Holy Father as the new Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese. May God’s blessings be upon you as you shepherd His sheep,” he tweeted.

The Special Message from the Pope was delivered to the lay faithful Catholic Christians of the Nebbi Catholic Diocese who were invited to assemble at St. Joseph’s Cathedral by the Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda, Luigi Bianco.

Gulu Archdiocese has had two archbishops, one of whom is Bishop John Baptist Odama, who was appointed as the first Metropolitan Archbishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Gulu in 1999.