{"id":11238,"date":"2021-05-29T15:11:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-29T15:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=11238"},"modified":"2021-05-29T14:10:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T14:10:53","slug":"church-restricts-martyrs-day-attendance-to-200-faithful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/church-restricts-martyrs-day-attendance-to-200-faithful","title":{"rendered":"Church restricts Martyrs Day attendance to 200 faithful"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>June 3 is the commemoration of the crowd-pulling Uganda Martyrs Day. This year, however, the celebrations will be low-key and with limited numbers<\/p>\n

For the second year running, Martyrs Day celebrations are to be held in line with the standard operating procedures in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, whose infection rate has been rising.<\/p>\n

Just like last year at both the Catholic and Anglican shrines, participating in the June 3 celebrations will only be by invite and only a small number of the faithful will have access.<\/p>\n

According to a statement from Church of Uganda Provincial Secretariat Communications Office, only 200 VIPs are expected to attend the event at Namugongo Anglican Shrine.<\/p>\n

The event that will strictly take two hours starts at 10am and no pilgrims will be allowed, according to the statement released on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn June 3, the Church of Uganda will host a scientific observance of Martyrs\u2019 Day at the Anglican Shrine, Namugongo,\u201d the statement read in part.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are expecting only 200 VIP guests in order to observe the Ministry of Health\u2019s Covid-19 guidelines,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

President Museveni has also been invited to be the chief guest of the day.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the Martyrs Day celebrations, the statement further indicates that Church of Uganda Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, will tour Uganda Martyrs Museum on May 31 at 10am.<\/p>\n

He will then address the press with further guidance on the June 3 function. Archbishop Kaziimba will be joined by the chief executive officer of Uganda Tourism Board, bishops and other dignitaries in the exercise.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme for the Anglican Shrine celebrations is \u201cLife in its fullness\u201d, got from John 10:10b.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Kaziimba is expected to be the main celebrant while the Rt Rev Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira, the Bishop of Namirembe Diocese, will be the preacher of the day.<\/p>\n

The scientific service will be streamed live on Church of Uganda and Words of Hope Ministries Uganda Media platforms.<\/p>\n

The Church of Uganda has also asked media houses to support and broadcast live the day\u2019s service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call upon you (media houses) to support us with live broadcasting services to enable the general public follow from the comfort of their homes. The purpose of this communique, therefore, is to invite your media house to cover this function,\u201d read in part the statement.<\/p>\n

At the Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine, Mr Ben Tenywa, the chief pilgrims guide, said they expect 250 people to grace the event due to the Covid-19 infection surge.<\/p>\n

He says part of the activities to mark the event started this week with the novena.<\/p>\n

The novena means devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks, for this time, ahead of the Martyrs Day celebrations.<\/p>\n

Before the pandemic<\/b><\/p>\n

Previously before Covid-19 hit, pilgrims could start arriving at Namugongo by May.<\/p>\n

Around the last week, hundreds of pilgrims on foot, would be arriving every day in huge numbers from far places but this time around, Mr Tenywa said they are not allowing any pilgrims apart from a few faithful who are coming for daily prayers.<\/p>\n

When our reporters visited the Shrine, there were a few activities like some renovations here and there, a few faithful in the garden praying and others having snacks.<\/p>\n

Prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, the religious annual celebrations would attract millions of pilgrims with many coming from beyond Uganda.<\/p>\n

Masaka Catholic Diocese will be in charge of this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

What they said…<\/b><\/p>\n

Accomodation<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I have lived here for the last 20 years and by now, business would be booming with Pilgrims starting to arrive at Namugongo. The hotels would be booked and the population as well would increase. This is not the case now,\u2019\u2019 Rogers Mataaka, resident of Namugongo.<\/p>\n

Beer business<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018I have been here for seven years. The last two years have been lousy. I would sell 1,000 crates of beer between May 30 and June 3 and the climax would be on June 3, which isn\u2019t the case anymore,\u2019\u2019 Edrisa Kalema, Beer depot owner.<\/p>\n

Memorial<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cBy now, many pilgrims would have come to buy souvenirs to take back home but the whole of today, I have received 30 customers, and yet previously, they would come in thousands,\u2019\u2019 Juliet Dusabe, souvenir dealer.<\/p>\n

Foreign prominence<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI have been in Tanzania in the last seven years and Ugandan Martyrs are very popular because some of them have been interceding for Christians there, but they [Tanzania Pilgrims] could not come this time round because of Covid,\u2019\u2019 Ronald Ssempijja, Catechist.<\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

Martyrs\u2019 Day is a national public holiday in Uganda, celebrated every June 3. The day commemorates the 45 martyrs, both Catholic and Anglican, who were killed on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II, then King of Buganda between 1885 and 1887.<\/p>\n

The Martyrs defied their king by refusing to denounce Christianity, a religion that had been newly introduced to Buganda by Catholic and Anglican missionaries.<\/p>\n

Likewise, about 70 Muslims martyrs were killed on the orders of Kabaka Muteesa I about 1877. The Muslim Martyrs had made the same long tortuous journey to Namugongo, ten years earlier where they were burnt in an inferno on the orders of Kabaka Mutesa I.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. June 3 is the commemoration of the crowd-pulling Uganda Martyrs Day. This year, however, the celebrations will be low-key and with limited numbers For the second year running, Martyrs Day celebrations are to be held in line with the standard operating procedures in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, whose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-11238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nChurch restricts Martyrs Day attendance to 200 faithful - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"June 3 is the commemoration of the crowd-pulling Uganda Martyrs Day. 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