By Moses Okwera
The body of the late Rev. Fr. John Sebit Marcello was laid to rest on Wednesday September 18th 2024 at “Our Lady of Assumption Parish” cemetery in Loa, Pageri Payam, Magwi County-Eastyern Equatoria state.
On Sunday morning September 15th 2024 , Rev. Fr. John Sebit collapsed and died in his room while preparing for prayers.
According to Dr. David Nyuma from Nimule Hospital, postmortem indicated that the cause of death was due to heart failure resulting from complications of diabetes.
He was Born on January 1, 1963, in Torit to Marcello Cube Loku and Cecerina Kade, John Sebit was ordained a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Torit on May 16, 1993, after completing his Philosophical and Theological training at St. Paul Major Seminary. He served in various capacities over his 30-year ministry, including assistant parish priest at St. Peter and Paul in Khartoum, spiritual director at St. Augustine Seminary in Khartoum, and vice rector and vocational director at St. Mary Seminary in Kocua, Adjumani, Uganda.
In 2009, Fr. John was appointed parish priest of Our Lady of Assumption in Loa. He later served as parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Nimule. In 2019, he became the Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Torit, a position he held until his reassignment as parish priest of Our Lady of Assumption in Loa, where he passed away.
“The medication Fr. John was taking shows that he was diabetic. Diabetes can lead to complications, including kidney problems and issues with the blood vessels, which affect the heart. These complications likely caused a heart attack and cardiac arrest,” Dr. Nyuma explained.
The Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Juba, H.L. Santo Laku Pio, who consoled the mourners on behalf of the clergy, described the late Rev. Fr. John as “a man of the Beatitudes, who was deeply committed to his ministry in Sudan.”
“My brothers and sisters, we are here to console each other but know that Fr. John is in the right hand of God. We didn’t even get the chance to visit him in the hospital. He was a man of the Beatitudes, deeply committed to his ministry in Sudan.”
There is no better day for a holy man like Fr. John to die than on a Sunday, a special day for all of us,” he said during the requiem mass in Loa on Wednesday.