TARBES FORMATION HOUSE MASAKA

Masaka - Uganda

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Tarbes Formation House: A Journey of Faith

The dream of Tarbes Formation House in Masaka began in 2017 when Fr. Biju Valliparambil VC invited the sisters to see the land which his congregation was planning to sell to different religious congregations. Sr. Jeyarani, the then sector coordinator, welcomed this invitation whole heartedly as we needed a novitiate house away from the hustle and bustle of city – Jinja. She along with the councilors envisioned a house where young women, discerning the call to religious life could live, study, and grow in faith while being actively involved in the life of the local community.

In the Year 2018 the Sector government approached the then Bishop of Masaka Diocese, Rt. Rev. Kaggwa John Baptist to permit the Province to buy the land and to construct a formation house in the Diocese of Masaka. The Bishop warmly welcomed the desire of the sisters to have a convent and encouraged to begin the process of acquiring the land and to construct the convent. This step was taken because:

The Novitiate house at Jinja was not very much conducive due to lack of sufficient space.

a lot of noise around as it is a stopover area for all the trucks and trailers coming from Kenya and Tanzania

Lack of security due to illegal activities taking place in the surrounding area.

And it was also felt that since the community at Nyabwina is far away from all other communities it will be good to have a close by community.

On 29th of November, 2018, the sector received a written document from the Bishop inviting the Province to open up a community in his Diocese. Legal procedures for acquiring the 10 acres of land from the congregation of the Vincentian fathers began in 2018. The sisters with the help of the Priests from St. Vincent’s Seminary Fr. Joby Chakkalackal and Fr. Vipin, fenced the land and constructed a small house for the workers. In 2020, the community of Mbarara was entrusted to oversee to the land and also to find someone to cultivate the land till the sisters begin the construction work. Due to Covid19 pandemic the plan of starting the new community could not be actualized. And meanwhile the Bishop of Masaka Rt. Rev. Kaggwa John Baptist was formally retired on 16th April 2019, and later was called to eternal home on 20th January 2021 (RIP).

Once the situation of COVID 19 began to stabilize, the Sector Coordinator Sr. Christina with her Councilors approached the new Bishop Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba and briefed him regarding the plan of starting a new mission in the Diocese of Masaka. He warmly welcomed the plan of beginning the formation house in his Diocese and accorded all the support needed. This dream started taking shape with the support of the Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Joseph Kamoga and the Vincentian fathers

Thanks to the community of St. Vincent Seminary, the Rector Fr. Joby, Reno and Fr. Joseph for accommodating Sr. Lincy who was requested to oversee to the construction work of the formation house. She stayed with the Vincentian fathers for 6 months and were very much supportive and were constantly guiding her in the construction work of the convent. The construction of the formation house was undertaken in the month of January 2022.

The formation house was completed in 2023 and was inaugurated on the 27th August 2023 by Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba, the Bishop of Masaka Diocese with a solemn Eucharistic celebration. The first batch of 6 Novices arrived in Masaka on the 1st of September, 2023 along with their novice mistress Sr. Jyothi D’Souza. The junior sisters in preparation for their perpetual profession arrived on the 6th of November, 2023 along with their junior mistress Sr. Anitha D’Mello.

The first community was comprised of

Sr. Christina Gomez – Animator
Sr. Anitha D’Mello – Junior Mistress
Sr. Joythi D’Souza – Novice Mistress

The vision of the formation community: Rooted in our Charism of Communion we share the vision of Jesus: that they all may be one, Father as you are in me and I am in you” (Jn 17: 21)

The Mission: To offer a process of initial formation that prepares the formees for a total Consecration of themselves to God, in the following of Christ at the service of the kingdom, according to the Spirit and the Constitutions of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tarbes.

Though this house is mainly the formation house, but this year 2025 as a community we started studying the place and began to look for possibilities of making our SJT presence felt in the village and parish at large as well as to become effective witnesses of gospel, ventured into new ministries.

As the locality is very poor and the people have no access to some of the health and education facilities due to lack of money, we introduced Tarbes Saving Scheme for Development. Where we have registered around 60 women and a few men.
Since we are located in the sub parish, where the children have no opportunities to study catechism, we introduced Catechism classes on every Saturday for the children of our Sub-Parish and they are around 40 students. Both the sisters and novices are involved in this ministry.

This house is not only for forming the future Sisters but also serves as a center for community life—hosting events, providing spiritual support, and nurturing the bonds that make the village a vibrant community of faith and fellowship.

Tarbes Formation House Building

The formative community – 2025

Novices with their mistress -2025

Apostolates of the Community

PASTORAL APOSTOLATES:
Being the youngest community of the sector of Uganda, we are studying the place and possibilities of our involvement to spread the word of God. For the moment we are actively involved in the parish and diocesan activities.

We are situated in one of the sub-parishes. We help the catechist of the sub parish in arranging for Sunday liturgy, assist the priest in distributing the communion, singing, drumming…etc.
On Sundays we take turns to visit the sub-parishes for Eucharistic celebrations as and when we are requested by the parish priest. We assist in the liturgy and at times we also address the congregation so as to make our presence known in the surrounding villages.
We being in the sub parish where the children have no access for catechism classes, we as a community have taken up the mission of bringing the children of our sub parish to the convent on every Saturday for catechism classes and preparing them for Sunday liturgy.
On every Sunday evening the novices and the sisters go to different villages for home visits. During this visit we also conduct prayers, encourage the people to come for Sunday mass, where necessary explain the Gospel.
On special vocations like feast days, we invite the people to participate in the Eucharistic celebration in the convent.
Social Work Apostolate: As a community we felt that we need to reach out to others by venturing into other ministries apart from formation and this can also train the novices to get involved in the apostolates. Hence we started in the month of May 2025 Tarbes Saving scheme for development so that the people can become financial stable and independent. We mostly target on women who are poor and vulnerable. We have around 60 women and a few men who have joined the group.
Here we empower the village people to save money which can help them to begin small projects. We invite people to give talks on social awareness, also to deepen their catholic faith.
Garden and Animal Farm Ministry: The formation community is mainly depending on the sector for its maintenance and upkeep. So as a community we felt that we need to start income generating projects which can sustain the formation house. Hence, we began the animal farm and the garden with variety of food crops and cash crop like matooke and coffee plantation