Namugongo shrines to reopen on November 27

Nov 11, 2015

The Namugongo Martyrs Catholic Shrine will be open to pilgrims the day Pope Francis jets into the country, the Government and the Church have said.

By Pascal Kwesiga                         

The Namugongo Martyrs Catholic Shrine will be open to pilgrims the day Pope Francis jets into the country, the Government and the Church have said.

They are currently closed to the public for construction works to renovate the Basilica and grounds ahead of Pope Francis visit to Uganda.

The Pope will arrive in Kampala from Kenya on November 27, and leave for Central African Republic on November 29.

The Minister for General Duties in the Office of the Prime Minister, Tarsis Kabwegyere and the chairman of Uganda Episcopal Conference, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, at a joint press conference in Kampala  yesterday, said pilgrims will be allowed to stay overnight at the shrine and attend a mass that will be celebrated by the Pope the next day.

The Government and the Church have been working closely on the preparations of Pope Francis’ visit, who will become the third pontiff to come to Uganda since Pope Paul VI’s visit in 1969 visit and John Paul II in 1993.

The visit is part of the anniversary celebrations to commemorate the canonisation of the 22 martyrs by Pope Paul VI in October 1964. The martyrs were beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. Two Catholic martyrs who were killed in northern Uganda have not yet been canonised.

The Catholic Shrines at Namugongo and Munyonyo as well as the one for the Anglican martyrs, also located in Namugongo, have been spruced up by the Government .
 

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