We are celebrating Uganda Martyrs’ day, June 3rd.
It is a big day over here.
Over 100,000 pilgrims are at Namugongo shrine. Many walked a distance of over 200 miles to Namugongo spending a number of days on the way.
• The youngest pilgrim was 8 years and he walked 180 miles.
• The oldest was 97 years and he walked 210 miles to Namugongo.
• The pilgrims from my parish walked 65 miles to Namugongo.
The martyrs were killed in 1886 by King Mwanga who was forcing them to abandon Christianity.
The martyrs were both Catholics and Protestants.
Please continue praying for me and my ministry.
You are warmly in my prayers.
With Blessings.
Fr. Francis
June 3 – Feast of the Ugandan Martyrs
excerpt credit: Kigali, Rwanda, Jun 4, 2019 / 11:36 am (CNA)
It is celebrated at a shrine built on the site where most of the martyrs were killed, about 10 miles northeast of downtown Kampala in Uganda.
Each year, the commemoration draws millions from around the globe, including Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Africa News.
The feast honors 24 Catholic martyrs from the country, 22 of whom were killed between 1885 and 1887 under King Mwanga of Buganda (now a part of Uganda), and two others who were killed in 1918 in Northern Uganda. Twenty-three Anglican Ugandans were also killed for their Christian faith within the same time period.
The martyrs were primarily pages in the court of King Mwanga, who grew increasingly intolerant of Christianity, likely for two reasons: he saw it as a threat to his power, and he resented the young Christian pages who rejected his sexual advances.
The Christian converts were tortured and executed by the king. Popular devotion to the martyrs remained strong in the country, and they were beatified June 6, 1920. Bl. Paul VI canonized the group Oct. 18, 1964.
Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of Rwanda celebrated Mass at St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Kigali for pilgrims who were unable to attend the Ugandan commemoration, AFP reported.
