- February 23, 2026 Sister Stories
Sister Rosario Bobadilla first received an invitation to carry the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Uganda, she resisted. "I was not really the right one for such a mission," she recalls. But in the end, she said yes and what followed was an experience of faith that stretched from Mexico to East Africa.
From November 17 to December 5, 2025, Sister Rosario traveled to Gulu, Uganda, accompanied by her brother, Father Tomás Bobadilla, a parish priest from Jalisco, Mexico. Their mission: to bring a replica of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, blessed by the abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, to the women of the Catholic Women's Association (CWA), who had been waiting to learn more about the devotion that had quietly taken root in their community.
The story of Guadalupe devotion in Gulu began ten years after a peace treaty ended 20 years of devastating civil war. A Comboni missionary had distributed pamphlets about Our Lady of Guadalupe to people still recovering from unimaginable loss. When the priest died, the seed he had planted lay dormant for awhile longer and then continued to grow. More than 2,000 women, organized through the CWA and supported by Sister Marion Weinzapfel, reached out for someone to teach them more.
Sister Rosario sees a striking parallel: "In 1521, ten years after the conquest, the people in Mesoamerica were in darkness. Their gods had abandoned them, they lost everything they had, and it was then that the Mother of the true God made herself present. Thus, in Gulu, after ten years of the peace treaty, devotion to Mary of Guadalupe began."
The siblings visited villages throughout the region, Pachio, Atede and others. One visit to the community of Lukomo left a lasting impression. There, in a chapel more than a hundred years old with a tin roof so full of holes it looked like a starry sky, 40 Acholi women gathered to share testimonies of healing and conversion. One woman, unable to afford hip surgery, dreamed that Our Lady visited her; she woke the next morning and walked without crutches. Others spoke of families restored from alcoholism, of chronic illness overcome, of hearts drawn closer to God.
On the Feast of Christ the King, Nov. 23, more than 1,300 women filled the Cathedral of Gulu, dressed in Vatican colors as a sign of unity with the universal Church. Archbishop Raphael p'Mony Wokorach, MCCJ, had given his blessing for the replica to be placed on an altar in the cathedral, the first image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to be publicly venerated in this way in Uganda.
Sister Rosario also visited ministries connected to the Sisters of St. Joseph, including the clinic that Sister Jo Ann Geary established and the water project she developed. The CSJ presence, though smaller now, remains alive in the memory of the people. "People remember them as sisters who were close to the poor," Sister Rosario reflects.
Asked what she brought home from Uganda, Sister Rosario's answer is simple: "I went to Gulu to bring the message of Guadalupe. I came back with the message the people of Gulu gave me. They showed me how the message of Guadalupe took them to live their faith."
The experience challenged not only her vocation as a CSJ but also her cultural roots as a Hispanic Latina woman. "I admired the faith of these women and became aware that the devotion to the Mother of Jesus is not only in America. This devotion went far away to countries where Our Lady shows mercy, compassion and hope to people who have faith in her Son, Jesus."
For Sister Rosario, the trip was a testament to a congregation without frontiers. "The world doesn't have distances," she says. "We are one in the face of God, a father of all humankind. Wherever we are, we are bringing the message of love to our neighbors without distinction, crossing frontiers and walking far away, bringing the gospel message."
Photo Album: View more photos from Sister Rosario's trip to Gulu.
