About UNCCLA
The Uganda National Catholic Council of Lay Apostolate (UNCCLA) is the representative body of the Catholic laity in Uganda, bringing together Lay Apostolate Associations, Movements, and Councils to foster a united and dynamic apostolate.
Established in line with the vision of the Uganda Episcopal Conference, UNCCLA serves as a link and channel of communication between the lay faithful and other official organs of the Church in Uganda and the Universal Church.
The Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders, nor vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. Their mission, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to “sanctify the world,” representing Christ and His Church and bearing witness to Him in all places.
Guided by Catholic teaching and in obedience to the local hierarchy, UNCCLA works to coordinate, animate, and support the apostolic mission of the laity across spiritual, social, cultural, and economic spheres. It mobilizes the faithful to actively participate in evangelisation, promote the family as the “domestic Church,” and contribute to the life, worship, and governance of the Church.
The laity, who form the majority of over one billion Catholics worldwide, are encouraged to use their gifts to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world, building a strong and vibrant Church in Uganda that actively contributes to the nation’s moral and social development.
Meet Our National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee has the main role of initiating, proposing, co-ordinating and fulfilling the programme as passed by the AGM which was last held in May 2024.
The NEC serves for a term of 3 years and are elected at the Annual General Meeting of UNCCLA.
What they say
We need well-formed lay people, animated by a sincere and clear faith, whose life has been touched by the personal and merciful love of Christ Jesus… We need lay people who take risks, who get their hands dirty, who are not afraid of making mistakes… Baptism makes each one of the lay faithful a missionary disciple of the Lord, salt of the earth, light of the world, and leaven that transforms reality from within.
Pope Francis266th Pope
The laity are in the front line of the Church’s life; through them the Church is the vital principle of human society… they not only belong to the Church but they are the Church, that is, the community of the faithful on earth.
Pope Pius XII260th Pope
The laity are called in a special way to make the Church present and operative in those places and circumstances where only through them can it become the salt of the earth.
Laypeople are not passive members but active participants in the Church’s mission… The laity’s involvement in the secular world is not only a spiritual duty but an opportunity to witness the Gospel in all areas of life… The unity of the laity and clergy is not one of hierarchy but of mutual respect, where both groups work together for the Church’s mission.
John Henry NewmanCatholic theologian