Clerics intensify prayers for Martyrs’ Day money
Fort Portal Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Muhiirwa (left) and the chairperson of Fort Portal’s steering committee for Martyrs’ Day celebrations, Fr Charles Oyo, address the media in Kampala on May 30, 2022. PHOTO | DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The June 3 Martyrs’ Day celebrations will be televised to allow those at home to closely follow events.
The Catholic Church that is organising the Martyrs Day celebrations is running programmes on a thin budget.
“We are still lacking funds because of the overwhelming number of pilgrims,” Bishop Robert Muhiirwa of Fort Portal Catholic Diocese told the media yesterday in Kampala.
“The chairperson in-charge of the health sub-committee [for the Namugongo preparations] was telling me the drugs which had been secured [to be used] from June 2 were already cleared by the pilgrims [already at the shrine]. So, we are already seeing a shortage there,” he added.
For this reason, Bishop Muhiirwa called upon people to continue supporting the team because of the existing funding gaps.
Fort Portal Diocese was selected by the Uganda Episcopal Conference to lead the celebrations at the Catholic Shrine this Friday. The event will be marked under the theme; Baptised and sent to witness Christ with love and hope.
There are about 10 sub-committees in place organising a series of activities that will take place before and during the celebrations at the Catholic Shrine.
Some of these sub-committees include health, liturgy, finance, security and catering.
Bishop Muhiirwa thanked President Museveni, institutions and individuals for generously supporting the celebrations.
President Museveni pledged Shs1b for both the Martyrs Day preparations and the renovation of Virika Cathedral in Fort Portal.
Though the Bishop did not go into the nitty-gritties about their deficit budget, about two weeks ago, Mr Steven Alinaitwe, the head of publicity and communication sub-committee [which is under the steering committee of Fort Portal Diocese], told Daily Monitor that each sub-committee will use an average of Shs150 million.
Bishop Muhiirwa also gave a sneak peak of the day’s programme by revealing that celebrations will kick off with a procession commencing at 9:30am, from the Basilica, which will then move slowly towards the Sanctuary surrounded by the Martyrs’ Lake.
“We urge everyone [attending] to keep time so that mass can start at 10am and hopefully by 1pm, we are done,” he said.
Despite the financial challenges that are arising from the preparations, the team is continuing to ensure that the programmes run uninterruptedly. “We have been preparing a liturgy that is going to put us at the face of the world. The choir, consisting of about 300 members, is already prepared and are making way to the shrine [for final rehearsals],” Fr Charles Oyo, the chairperson of Fort Portal Diocese’s steering committee for the celebrations, said.
Fr Oyo added that they are following up on pending pledges.
At the shrines, more pilgrims keep arriving ahead of the celebrations. The pilgrims have returned following a previous two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Businessmen and women within the Namugongo hope to register remarkable sales in business before and during the celebrations.
