Father Andreas (Hans) Hug OSB, a Missionary Benedictine of St. Ottilien, passed away peacefully on 25 September 2025 at St. Raphael Priory in Uwemba, Tanzania, at the age of 93. Born in 1931 in Bermatingen, Germany, he was one of twelve children. After a childhood marked by family hardship and loss during World War II, he pursued his education at the minor seminary in Constance and entered the St. Ottilien Abbey in 1952, taking the religious name Andreas. He professed vows in 1953, studied philosophy and theology, and was ordained a priest in 1958. Inspired by a deep missionary zeal, he departed for the Territorial Abbey of Peramiho in Tanzania in 1959, beginning a lifelong service to the Church in East Africa.
Throughout more than five decades of missionary and pastoral work, Father Andreas ministered in numerous parishes across southern Tanzania — including Matogoro, Maguu, Litembo, Litumba, Nangombo, and Namabengo. Renowned for his humility and technical skill, he built churches, served his people tirelessly, and often traveled by motorcycle to reach remote communities. From 1989 to 2012, he led the parish of St. Raphael in Uwemba and later served as prior of the local monastic community from 2018 to 2022. His simple lifestyle, quiet humor, and deep empathy made him beloved by both his confreres and parishioners, with whom he shared a profound bond of faith and friendship.
In his later years, Father Andreas faced declining health with serenity. After losing his hearing in 2024, a successful operation restored both his hearing and his vitality, allowing him to reconnect with friends and family online. A hip fracture in mid-2025, however, confined him to his room, where he chose to remain in his community rather than move to a distant infirmary. Surrounded by the care of his fellow monks and the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, he spent his final months in peace and gratitude. In the 72nd year of his monastic profession, Father Andreas entered eternal rest, remembered as a humble servant, a faithful missionary, and a true man of God.