Malawi pilgrims drive to Namugongo
May 31, 2011
A total of 90 Catholics from Malawi set off on Sunday for a pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Namugongo.
By JEFF LULE
and AGENCIES
A total of 90 Catholics from Malawi set off on Sunday for a pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Namugongo.
Led by the Auxiliary Bishop of Blantyre Archdiocese, Montfort Stima, the 3,000 km journey to Uganda, through Tanzania, began with a high mass held at Limbe Cathedral, where Stima asked the holy spirit to guide the pilgrims during the journey.
Archbishop Tarcisius Ziyaye bade farewell to the prigrims and told them they would be moved by the story of the Uganda martyrs.
This is the first official pilgrimage to Uganda by Malawian Catholics organised by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi.
There are over two million Catholics in Malawi, making the church the largest Christian denomination in the country.
Every June 3, people from all over Africa and the world join Ugandan Christians in prayer and celebration of the great African saints who sacrificed their lives for Christianity.
The Uganda Martyrs were beatified on June 6, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. They were canonised by Pope Paul VI on Mission Sunday, on October 8, 1964 in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
The same Pope honoured the Martyrs with a pilgrimage on July 31 to August 2, 1969, the first visit ever by a pope to the African Continent.
The famous Namugongo shrine stands at the spot where the gallant leader of the Uganda Martyrs, St. Charles Lwanga was burnt alive.
Lwanga and 22 others were murdered on the orders of Mwanga II, the king of Buganda, between 1885 and 1887.
By yesterday, traders from different parts of the region had shifted their businesses to the shrine as thousands of pilgrims came in.
When New Vision visited the area yesterday, the road to the shrine was already taken on by various traders selling various commodities including rosaries, T-shirts and other religious memorabia.
and AGENCIES
A total of 90 Catholics from Malawi set off on Sunday for a pilgrimage to the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Namugongo.
Led by the Auxiliary Bishop of Blantyre Archdiocese, Montfort Stima, the 3,000 km journey to Uganda, through Tanzania, began with a high mass held at Limbe Cathedral, where Stima asked the holy spirit to guide the pilgrims during the journey.
Archbishop Tarcisius Ziyaye bade farewell to the prigrims and told them they would be moved by the story of the Uganda martyrs.
This is the first official pilgrimage to Uganda by Malawian Catholics organised by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi.
There are over two million Catholics in Malawi, making the church the largest Christian denomination in the country.
Every June 3, people from all over Africa and the world join Ugandan Christians in prayer and celebration of the great African saints who sacrificed their lives for Christianity.
The Uganda Martyrs were beatified on June 6, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. They were canonised by Pope Paul VI on Mission Sunday, on October 8, 1964 in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome.
The same Pope honoured the Martyrs with a pilgrimage on July 31 to August 2, 1969, the first visit ever by a pope to the African Continent.
The famous Namugongo shrine stands at the spot where the gallant leader of the Uganda Martyrs, St. Charles Lwanga was burnt alive.
Lwanga and 22 others were murdered on the orders of Mwanga II, the king of Buganda, between 1885 and 1887.
By yesterday, traders from different parts of the region had shifted their businesses to the shrine as thousands of pilgrims came in.
When New Vision visited the area yesterday, the road to the shrine was already taken on by various traders selling various commodities including rosaries, T-shirts and other religious memorabia.