Father John Scalabrini, the departed foster father of singer Jose Chameleone’s wife Daniella Atim Mayanja is to be laid to rest today at 2pm at a cemetery at St James Catholic Church, Biina.
Fr John, who died on Tuesday morning at St Francis Hospital, Nsambya in Kampala, had been admitted to the hospital last Thursday. Popularly known as Father John, the deceased clergyman had been battling cancer of the bone for the last five years.
Before his burial today, Fr John was eulogized by many including church leaders, politicians and parishioners, who all paid glowing tribute to the larger-than-life Italian missionary who came to Uganda in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, mourners from the Catholic parishes of Bbina, Butabika, Luzira, Kitintale say he will be greatly remembered for founding kindergartens, schools and colleges, including Bishop Cipriano Kihangire Primary School and Bishop Cipriano SSS in Luzira, on the outskirts of Kampala.
Similar sentiments have also been expressed by Catholics from Northern Uganda, where Fr John served as a missionary for close to three decades.
Indeed, members of the Catholic fraternity in Bbina Parish and Gulu Diocese say he was a benefactor to thousands of needy children, especially orphans, including Jose Chameleone’s wife, Daniella Atim.
