Pope Francis’ advance team arrives in Uganda

Kampala.

The Vatican advance security team yesterday arrived in the country and made various spot checks at places Pope Francis is expected to visit during his three-day visit that starts this Friday.

A team of five security personnel accompanied by officers from the Uganda Special Forces Group and Uganda Police Force, visited the Namugongo Protestant Shrine where they were hosted by Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo and Mr Lugya Lwazi, one of the Anglican church leaders.

The readiness
At the time of the advance team’s visit, Archbishop Nkoyoyo had just finished addressing journalists, where he announced an overnight prayer ahead of the Pope’s visit to the venue this Saturday.

“We are very ready to receive Pope Francis even if he said he is coming tomorrow. What is remaining is to mop and clean. As you have seen, we have received the Pope’s advance team. From here, they have headed to the Catholic Shrine,” he said after showing the team the newly constructed museum.

Pope Francis is expected to officially open the museum that has molded impressions of how the martyrs were executed by Mukajanga, King David Mwanga’s chief executor, among others. The team travelling on black land cruisers, with a police lead car, arrived at the Namugongo Catholic Shrines around midday and was received by parish priest Fr Vincent Lubega and Mr Francis Mwonge.

Fr Lubega told journalists that the team also checked the level of preparedness at the shrines.

“Everything is on course. I would like to assure the public that we are ready to receive the Pope. The Basilica is done and the remaining unfinished work is to be completed before the Pope arrives,” he said.

Fr Lubega took journalists around the shrine of which most of the work was done. The newly reconstructed water pond was being filled with water and pavers were being fixed around it.

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