The Beauvais Retreat Center -- named for a priest on the Yeshua Institute’s Board of Directors -- was commissioned and blessed Saturday, Jan. 25, near Kampala, Uganda. Msgr. Charles Kasibante, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Kampala, spoke, celebrated Mass and blessed the center.
Construction of the retreat center was a joint, intercontinental project bringing together the leaders of LayLife Ministry in Uganda and the Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute in the U.S.
Father David Beauvais, for whom the center is named, is a retired priest of the Rockford Diocese, where he served as Vicar for Social Ministries, Vicar for Administration & Finance, and as pastor in several parishes in the diocese. Now in his mid-80s, he continues to do volunteer counseling and provide weekend help in parishes while also serving on the Yeshua Institute board.
The center
The new center features a chapel, 32 retreatant rooms, a kitchen, library, dining room and conference rooms. It sits on 27 acres with walking trails and several areas with fire pits for outdoor gatherings. There are also separate buildings for a laundry and staff quarters.
“The Beauvais Center is viewed as an active affiliate of the Yeshua Institute and is committed to forming what Pope Francis refers to as missionary disciples,” said Dick Kunnert, a member of the Yeshua Institute board who was instrumental in raising funds for the project.
To date, through the Yeshua Institute, more than 200 donors have provided $1.2 million for the project.
Ugandan leaders
LayLife Ministry is led by Javis Mugagga Lubwama and his wife Gladys (“Gida”). Javis comes from a family of 35 brothers and sisters with 14 mothers. His father was a gynecologist who died when he was 13 years old. With the help of various people, he was able to complete high school and earn a college degree. He worked for Cornerstone Development Africa, a ministry featured in a Stephen Covey 7 Habits of Highly Effective People training video.
Javis met Yeshua Institute board members Fr. Dave, Dick Kunnert and Owen Phelps on trips they took to Uganda in late 2011 and early 2012 to teach The Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus. They trained and certified him as a facilitator of the program so he could continue presenting it in Uganda.
Over the next few years, he extended his work to serve priests, seminarians, women religious, married couples, as well as high school chaplains, teachers and students.
After he married Gladys, an accountant, she served as a catechist and began teaching cake decorating and pizza making classes to local women as a way for them to launch businesses and learn more about the Catholic faith. They have three children.
The dream
“When we started dreaming a decade ago, our goal was clear – to create a faith driven space where groups and individuals could experience renewal, clarity, and purpose,” Javis explained on the eve of the center’s opening. “It’s a 10-year story of trusting God for provision, and now we stand amazed at what has been accomplished.”
The center’s ongoing programs will continue to focus on evangelism, education and entrepreneurship. “We intend to be a high-quality experiential mentoring environment that will inspire and equip leaders to discover a vision for their lives -- enabling them to lead, create and influence society in a way that honors God,” Javis said.
“We are forming an ecosystem that enables leaders and entrepreneurs from all walks of life to tackle Uganda's toughest problems,” he added.
The secret sauce
The dedication’s keynote speaker, Francis Kamulegya, a retired banker and former CEO of PWC of Eastern Africa, spoke about the importance of trust, leadership and legacy. He pointed to the trust developed by Javis with local civic and church leaders and leaders of the Yeshua Institute – saying that nothing he has accomplished could have been achieved without trust.
He noted that trust cannot be purchased but that it must be earned – earned by people who have proven themselves trustworthy. He added that many people in leadership positions with great power are not, in fact, qualified leaders. So he’s excited to see LayLife Ministry focusing on developing worthy, competent leaders – providing essential resources to Uganda’s youth and hope to all of the country’s people. The center, he said, promises to build a legacy that will last generations.
The Yeshua Institute’s board members noted that “none of this could have been accomplished without the incredible generosity of our 200-plus donors, most of whom came from the Rockford area, who have given their fellow Catholics in Uganda a resource to grow spiritually and be intellectually renewed to serve their community, their country and the world. In the end, it’s God’s work and we are so very, very grateful.”