He died this morning at St. Francis Hospital Nsambya where he was admitted on Thursday last week after his health deteriorated.
“ He had been suffering with cancer of the bones for about four to five years and had just returned from Italy two months ago where he normally went for treatment,” Mr Victor Okello Nam, the Head Teacher of Bishop Cipriano Kihangire SSS told Daily Monitor on phone.
Fr John, as he was commonly known, was 83 at the time of his death.
Mr. Nam has described Fr. Scalabrini’s death as a big blow to the country.
“He has done a lot. He has supported very many children and orphans,” he added.
The school, Bishop Cipriano Kihangiire SSS in the Kampala suburb of Luzira is one of many of his establishments.
The others are a primary school, two nursery schools, and a carpentry workshop that provides skills training for youths, a hospital and a number of churches, and a school for orphans.
Who is Fr John Scalabrini?
He was a catholic priest born in Limido Comasco, Italy in 1934. He came to Uganda in 1964 aged 30, and has been doing missionary work for decades, supporting orphans, the poor and homeless among other charitable deeds.
To many in Acoli where he dedicated decades of his life, Fr. John was considered a pillar and a beacon of hope.
His passion for education saw him support hundreds of children through school. He loved to empower people, and to this end he established he installed a number of flour mills at the mission farm in Gulu archdiocese, to encourage locals to grow maize.
He stood with his people and remained steadfast in supporting them even through the country’s darkest moments.
