FORT PORTAL – More than 2,000 foot pilgrims from Fort Portal and Kasese dioceses were on Monday flagged off from Fort Portal heading to Namugongo in Wakiso district to mark Uganda Martyrs Day which falls on 3rd June every year.
Uganda Martyrs’ Day commemorates the late 19th-century martyrdom of a group of 23 Anglican and 22 catholic men who were ordered to be put to death between 1985-1987 by the then King of Buganda Kabaka Mwanga II for having converted to Christianity, even though some historians the pages disobeyed the Kabaka.
The Fort Portal pilgrims were flagged off by the Bishop of Fort Portal Diocese Rt.Rev.Robert Muhirwa who is this year’s main celebrant.
The Uganda Episcopal Conference selected Fort Portal Diocese to spearhead this year’s Uganda Martyrs Day after 25 years.
During the mass to prepare for the flag-off of the foot pilgrims, Bishop Muhirwa urged pilgrims to stay focused as they walk and pray to God to guide them.
“I know you will meet so many people who will discourage you, telling you that you are doing nothing and will gain nothing, don’t listen to them, just pray to god for His intervention and ask mother Mary to intercede for you,” he said while giving a sermon.
Meanwhile, Fort Portal Diocese is still looking for more money as far as preparations for the celebrations are concerned.
As it is the mandate of every diocese leading the celebrations to take the mantle of organizing the whole function, Fort portal Diocese has been seeking Shs 1bln for the preparations, but according to Fr. Charles Oyo the chairperson organizing committee, money is still lacking.
Fr. Oyo said people said some people have not fulfilled their pledges.
He appealed to those who have not fulfilled their pledges to pay and called upon all well-wishers including corporate companies to give more financial support so that the function goes on smoothly.
“It is our obligation as the main celebrant to mobilize funds to ensure preparations go on well. However much people have supported us, most of them haven’t fulfilled their pledges,” he said.
According to Muhirwa, the task to lead the celebrations is enormous and it demands serious preparations on the spiritual level and material levels’ so as to profit from the pilgrimage.
“Provided that the diocese is organizing a number of activities to match the task ahead of it,we still need more support to cater for liturgy, finance, protocol, security, catering, transport, construction and decoration among others,” he added.
Fr. Edward Muhumuza the head of the finance committee said the diocese has established channels of collecting money, which include mobile money accounts in the names of the bishop and bank accounts in the names of the church.
This year’s celebrations shall be guided by the theme, “Baptized and Sent to Witness Christ with Love and Hope”, which is reflected in the way the martyrs died.
History of Ugandan Martyrs’ Day
From the start of his reign in 1884, King Mwanga had viewed foreign missionaries as the greatest threat to his kingdom and power base. He expelled missionaries and threatened converts to renounce their new faith or face execution.
In total, 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic converts to Christianity were executed between January 31st 1885 and January 27th 1887. On June 3rd 1886, 32 young men were burned to death at Namugongo for their refusal to renounce Christianity. They were a combination of Anglican and Catholic converts.
Mwanga’s actions led to a British backed revolution which overthrew the King in 1888. Mwanga negotiated with the British and in exchange for handing over some of his sovereignty to the British East Africa Company, the British helped reinstate Mwanga to the throne in 1889. After a further spate of double-crossing, he was finally deposed in 1897. While in exile he was converted to an Anglican.
There are Catholic and Anglian shrines to the Martyrs’ close to each other in Namugongo. Each year Martyrs Day attracts millions of pilgrims to the area with many coming from beyond Uganda.
The Catholic Church beatified the 22 Catholic martyrs in 1920 and canonized them as Saints of the universal Church in 1964.
In 2015, Pope Francis visited Namugongo, where he celebrated Holy Mass. Before the Mass, Pope Francis paid homage to the Anglican martyrs at the Anglican shrine.
https://thecooperator.news/fort-portal-diocese-seeking-shs1bn-for-uganda-martyrs-celebrations/
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