Sleep well faithful servant of God – Born on April 6th 1925, Died on June 2017
“When an elder dies, it’s a library that has burnt down,” that was Fr. Ruffino Ezama describing with sorrow the demise of Fr. Pietro Tiboni. Fr. Tiboni was a teacher throughout his priestly life and he was referred to by most of his students as a moving Library. Most students who attended his classes say he taught better whenever he was confronted with a question. Fr. Tiboni would answer it like he researched it and read about it and would present it in a logical way. He was a man of faith, this was seen whenever he dedicated time to meditate in his personal prayer, commented Fr. Ruffino.
Fr. Ruffino said that the community finds itself at a moment where people who knew Fr. Tiboni appreciate him as an elder, a man of wisdom and a friend. He continued that during the time of the fall of Idi Amin Dada, Fr. Tiboni realized that the moral fibre of the Ugandan society had been affected so he, together with the St. Paul sisters and Leadership Magazine, collaborated and wrote a pamphlet in the moral rehabilitation, some of these pamphlets invited people to build bridges that were broken in their lives. Fr. Tiboni founded the movement known as Christ is Communion and Love (CCL), which was the Ugandan Version of Communione E Liberazione. The spirituality of this movement animated a postulate, his human interactions and the dimension of giving hope to the people. Members of CCL would bear witness to that. Every morning between 4 and 5 a.m., Fr. Tiboni would share a reflection via short messaging service (SMS) about a thought for the day.
Fr. Tiboni will be remembered for starting the Ecumenical way of the cross, which takes place in Kampala annually every Good Friday, said Fr. Ruffino. He further narrated that after Fr. Tiboni had started the way of the cross, he placed it under the Uganda Catholic Secretariat which then became part of the Ugandan Joint Christian council. He said this was one way Fr. Tiboni put Christ at the centre of people’s daily life. Fr. Ruffino refers to him as a jack-of-all-trades; “he loved wearing a jacket with many pockets as if to say he is one who can handle anything” recalls Fr. Ruffino. He taught Philosophy at the Queen of Apostles Philosophy Centre- Jinja, the International scholasticate of Kampala. At the same time, he was teaching theology and other related disciplines at St. Mary’s National Major Seminary – Ggaba and St. Mbaaga Tuzinde Major Seminary.
He would also visit some high schools as a way of empowering young people to become change agents in their society. Fr. Tiboni will be remembered for his sense of humour. His responses to questions carried a sense of humour enabling the listener not to forget the way he answered questions. Fr. Tiboni loved the poor; he gladly shared all he had with them. It was painful for him to see people suffer; he always gave a hand whenever he could.
He also founded a seminary for adult vocation with a particular focus on Pastoral and community life (Pastoral Institute of Kitgum); this showed his love & belief in Ugandans to become pastoral agents.
Fr. Tiboni was born on April 6th 1925 in Tiarno di Sopra close to Trento. He professed his first religious vows on August 15th, 1944 and became a priest on August on 8th 1950. He spent his first years of active ministry in Italy teaching Philosophy, in 1957 he was assigned to teach theology in the National seminary of Torit in Southern Sudan, in 1964 he was expelled from South Sudan and he spent the following six years in Italy teaching theology at the International Scholasticate of the Comboni Missionary in Venegono Seperiore.
In 1970 he came back to Africa but this time he was going to Northern Uganda, in Kitgum. In 1975, Fr. Tiboni along with 15 other Comboni Missionaries were expelled from Uganda. After the fall of Idi Amin in 1979, and after completing his service in the Comboni General Council in 1980, Fr. Tiboni returned to Uganda where he served as a missionary until the time of his demise in June 2017. Fr. Tiboni whose health was undermined by advanced age wished to spend the last years of his life in the community of the Comboni Missionaries at Lacor – Gulu.
May his soul rest in eternal peace.
