John Sentamu

John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu

Sitter in 4 portraits
In 2005, John Sentamu was appointed Archbishop of York and became England's first black Archbishop. Born into the Buffalo Clan near Kampala, Uganda, he was the sixth of thirteen children who survived childhood sickness and famine. He later studied law, becoming a barrister and High Court Judge. In 1974, his criticism of Idi Amin's regime for human rights violations led to Sentamu's arrest and his departure for Britain. In England, he trained for the priesthood and was ordained deacon and priest in 1979. He was made Bishop of Stepney in 1996 and Bishop of Birmingham in 2002. Sentamu was an adviser to the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence and chairman of the Damilola Taylor Murder Investigation Review. As Archbishop of York, he is the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, and has been active on issues including young people and family, modern slavery, poverty in the UK, and international injustice and conflict. In 2008, he set up the Archbishop of York Youth Trust charity, followed by the website Acts435 that enables charitable giving.