BLESSED JILDO IRWA

Jildo Irwa was born around 1906 in the village of Bar-Kitoba, North-West of Kitgum. His father was Ato and his mother was Okeny. He embraced Catholicism and was instructed and baptized by Fr. Cesare Gambaretto on 6th June 1916 and confirmed on 15th October 1916. Jildo was lively, gentle, intelligent and fast in doing things. He was humorous and had a rare art of organizing children for activities. He offered to accompany Daudi Okello to the Paimol mission and acted as assistant catechist. He was killed the same day Daudi Okello was killed. When he was told to leave after Daudi had been killed he said to his killers: “We have done nothing wrong, for the same reason you killed Daudi you must also kill me, because together we came here and together we have been teaching God’s word”. Having said this, somebody grabbed him, pushed him outside the hut and, placing him at a distance of two steps, pierced him through with a spear. Then one of them struck Jildo’s head with a knife. He was about 14 years old.