The annual June 3rd celebration of the feast day of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, 24 young Catholic and Anglican converts who were martyred by King Mwanga in 1886, drew Catholics from across the continent and beyond to a vibrant, three-hour-long liturgical celebration at Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs in Namugongo, just outside of the nation’s capital of Kampala.
The image below shows the Vatican News reporting on the national event. These people walked over 185 miles from the Diocese of Lira south to Kampala for the Celebration of the Liturgy. As they walk, the Lira Pilgrims sleep at various designated places, such as schools and parishes. They are carrying provisions and cook for themselves.
About 820 pilgrims from Lira Diocese in northern Uganda, were walking since May 18, 2024. The pilgrims were hoping to arrive at the Namugongo Shrine on May 31st for the June 3rd National Liturgy.
Apart from joining in the daily evening Mass celebrated by priests walking with them, the pilgrims also recite the Rosary and Chaplet of the Divine Mercy as they seek God’s mercy and intervention in their personal life situations.
The pilgrims have prayer intentions for the Diocese, the Bishop, priests and the religious of the Diocese of Lira. They equally pray for friends, and relatives who could not make the trip.
Above all, they have fervently prayed asking the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intervention in their lives for love, peace, and unity to prevail in Uganda.
It is always a colorful Eucharistic service.
Those gathered for the 60th anniversary of the cannonization of the Ugandan Martyrs were a testament to the ongoing impact of the martyrs on the Church in Africa — which has gone from under 2 million adherents in 1900 to 236 million just over a century later.
