Sister Benedicta was born Maria Benedicta in 1954 in Ggoli-Sseeta, Mpigi, Uganda. She received her early education there and trained as a nurse in Kenya before joining the Medical Missionaries of Mary in 1978. She then trained in midwifery. After her profession she was assigned to Uganda and worked as an auxiliary anaesthetist.

In 1988 she was assigned to Tanzania. She spent fourteen years there, first as a staff nurse and later as matron at Makiungu Hospital. She went to Uganda in 2005 and was Sister in charge of Makondo Health Centre.

Sister Benedicta became ill in 2012. Sister Maria Jose, from her community, said that during Benedicta’s illness there were many moments of distress and anxiety, hoping she would get better. ‘When we asked her how she was each morning, her answer was always, “I am fine, and you?”‘

Benedicta was a woman of faith who had a special way of being that never changed; gentle, quiet, simple. During her funeral Mass the diocesan health coordinator shared how he experienced the witness of Sister Benedicta’s deep commitment to religious life. He said that she lived simply, coming to meetings on a boda-boda (motorbike) and sharing her responsibilities and decisions with her leaders. She was known for her great integrity.

Despite several months of treatment she died in Makondo on 6 September 2013.