For the past 11 years, Father Dismas Byarugaba, AJ has ministered as a Catholic chaplain at Summa Akron City Hospital in Akron. A native of Uganda, he is a member of the Apostles of Jesus religious order which has several members in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland serving as chaplains at various hospitals. Based in Kenya, the order has missionaries in Africa, Europe, Australia and the United States.
Volunteers at Summa Akron City Hospital, including Bob Eikenburg and Pat Rynd, hold him in high regard and wanted to do something memorable for the 17th anniversary of his ordination.
“Both Pat and I have come to know Father Dismas quite well during the years that we have volunteered at the hospital. We have the utmost respect and admiration for him,” Eikenburg said. The men help to visit Catholic patients and distribute holy Communion at the hospital.
They decided to take Father Byarugaba to lunch to celebrate his ordination anniversary -- but they also had a second surprise.
Both men are members of the Father Maruskin Council, Knights of Columbus in Stow. Eikenburg is grand knight; Rynd is the immediate past grand knight.
The celebratory lunch gave them the opportunity to surprise Father Byarugaba by presenting him with the council’s Religious of the Year award.
“Father Dismas has made a tremendous impact providing compassionate, Catholic pastoral care to individuals receiving services through our Akron Summa Health Care System. He is highly respected by all who know him, serves the parish where he resides (Visitation of Mary Parish in Akron) and has provided critically needed health care in his hometown in Uganda,” Eikenburg said.
The Father Maruskin Council was granted a charter on July 15, 1992. In 2004, the council moved its meetings to Holy Family Parish in Stow, where it still meets. It has been involved in pro-life causes since its inception and also hosts popular fundraising fish fries each year. As well as other fraternal events like Christmas parties, family picnics, golf tournaments and more. In recent years the council also has had donut sales, Easter ham sales and charity raffle ticket sales.