Soroti weds 137

Mar 19, 2006

PREGNANT and breast-feeding barefoot women were among 137 brides at a mass wedding at St. Patrick Catholic Church Madera in Soroti Municipality.

By J. Omoding in Soroti
PREGNANT and breast-feeding barefoot women were among 137 brides at a mass wedding at St. Patrick Catholic Church Madera in Soroti Municipality.
One elderly couple, Evelyn Amado and Yuventine Atidi, 70, said they wanted to have a blessed marriage before they died.
The wedding was part of celebrations to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day. The wedding was, however, held on Saturday 18 March although St. Patrick’s Day is marked on March 17.
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity’s most widely known figures.
Twelve priests led by Father Leonard Elungat, who represented the Soroti Catholic Diocese Bishop Erasmus Wandera, were present.
The ceremony that was held under huge mango trees attracted both old and young couples.
The exchange of vows and tying of the knots had to be decentralised by asking couples to go into groups according to their parishes and a priest or two were assigned to handle them.
Priests included Fr. Simon Wancha, the parish priest of Madera Mission, Fr. Waziwazi Ongeren, Fr. Martin Aeko, Fr. Charles Ojok, Fr. Francis Aseete, Fr. Charles Okurut and Fr. Peter Oelu. The couples were drawn from the eight parishes of Madera Mission that covers Arapai, Tukum, Aloet, Aoja, Gweri, Kamuda, Katine and Madera.
The Catholic Church entered the new millennium of 2000 in style and wedded 500 couples in Usuk parish in Katakwi.
Most couples wedded in their traditional dress. Others wore white dresses and looked like nuns.
Some were bare-foot or wore flip-flops. They sat among other worshippers and could hardly be differentiated.
Madera was among the first Catholic churches built in Teso in 1926.
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