Pope Francis arrives at Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo. Photo/File
Barely two years after his election, Pope Francis jetted into the country on November 27, 2015, for a two-day visit. On the day, excitement and tears of joy filled Entebbe International Airport and its vicinity as thousands of believers and curious onlookers gathered inside and outside the airport to welcome the head of about 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.
Although only a handful of Very-Very Important Persons (VVIPs) and accredited journalists welcomed the Pope inside the highly protected airport, thousands of other believers gathered on different roads near the airport to welcome the Pope.
The news of Pope’s visit to Africa, specifically to Kenya, Uganda, and the Central African Republic (CAR) between November 25 and 30, 2015, had been received months earlier, prompting the Catholic Church and the government to prepare for his safe arrival and stay. Both institutions then set about to work jointly on how the Catholic head who had risen to the helm in 2013 would be received, accommodated and enabled to make his planned visits safe and successful.
Unlike other visitors who are welcomed by Ministers or other officials delegated by the President at the Airport and later driven to State House, to meet the President, Mr Museveni was at hand to welcome the Pope. Right from preparation, Mr Museveni, his wife and Education Minister Janet, the then Archbishop of Kampala Catholic Archdiocese Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, then Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, and then Chief Justice Bart Katurebe, were among the 47 VVIPs on the tarmac of Entebbe Airport to welcome the Pope.
Security was heavily deployed, especially in the areas of Entebbe International Airport, Munyonyo, Nakiyanja, Nalukolongo, Namugongo, Lubaga Cathedral, and at the Apostolic Nunciature in Mbuya, where the pontiff stayed. The Ministry of Health deployed 400 health personnel and 38 ambulances across the places where the Pope visited to handle any emergencies during his visit.
The then Minister of Health, Dr Elioda Tumwesigye, told reporters that the government had stocked enough medicines and supplies to treat anyone who would fall sick during the visit.
Recapturing the arrival
On November 27, 2015, all roads led to the airport where the Pope was expected to arrive later that day. Mr Gabriel Buule of Daily Monitor was among the few journalists accredited to cover the Pope’s arrival on November 27, 2015. The staunch Catholic, among the few who directly received the Pope’s blessings, recounts his experience. “November 26, 2015, was a restless night as I spent it thinking of how to position myself to take the most historic and memorable photos of Pope Francis’s maiden trip to Africa.
I took to social media to share with friends and family through tweets, tests, and Facebook posts informing whoever cared that I had secured a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture the moments of the Pontiff,” Buule said.
“Like never before, the level of alertness among security personnel was unprecedented. It took us half an hour to get checked so we could access the airport. including the aircraft parking lot. Thanks to our positions as journalists, the security personnel quickly processed our entry so we could relay the Pontiff’s arrival to the rest of Ugandans. “The Pontiff’s Allitalia special aircraft had been scheduled to land at the renovated old airport.
“The Pope, who was setting off from Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in his special plane around 4pm, was to land in Uganda after 45 minutes,” Buule recounts. Buule says three Swiss Guards who are entrusted with the Pope’s security detail, dressed in black suits, armed with walkie-talkies, emerged from the airport lounge at around 330pm to deliver a message.
“This was the biggest indicator yet that the Pontiff was soon touching down. This expectation was strengthened by the arrival of President Museveni along with his wife and a few of his ministers who lined up to receive the Pope,” he said.
“Eventually, Alitalia descended slowly from the East before touching the tarmac amid great fanfare and celebration. The moment of truth had come. My heart raced, but I knew I had a job to do. Take the most memorable photo. Finally, the door of the Alitalia swung open, giving way to a 40-man team of journalists. The Papal Nuncio, and Archbishop Michael Augustine Blume stepped out to open for the Pope,” he added.
Buule says the Pope was welcomed by President Museveni at the Airport. “Amid the confusion, I got a rare opportunity to touch his choir garment. This was a spectacular blessing in the Catholic faith that I could not let pass,” he said.
Reception at State House From the airport, the Holy Father was driven to State House, Entebbe, where he held a meeting with the President and later addressed a mini-gathering. The Pope later praised Uganda for its outstanding response in welcoming refugees from other parts of Africa.
“Here in East Africa, Uganda has shown outstanding concern for welcoming refugees, enabling them to rebuild their lives in security with a sense of dignity. How we deal with them is a test of our humanity,” he said.
he pontiff also said the world looks to Africa as the continent of hope, noting that his visit to Kenya, Uganda, and CAR was aimed at drawing the global attention to Africa’s “achievements and struggles.”
Fr Lawrence Ssemusu, the Chaplin of Makerere University Business School, who was one of the members on the Committee that received the Pope at airport, yesterday recalled the simplicity of the Holy Father that he said included rejecting a huge car that had been provided to move him to the different destinations, but opted for a smaller and simpler one.
“One thing we have to learn from the Holy Father is his simplicity. I saw the vehicle that took Pope Paul VI. I saw the one of Pope John Paul II. This one was a very tiny car. He was very humble and always down to earth,” Fr Ssemusu recounted.
Pope Francis interacts with former Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Rt Rev Stanley Ntagali, during his official visit to Uganda in 2015. Photo/File
Munyonyo Shrine
After the State House, the plaintiff visited Munyonyo Shrine where the 22 Catholic martyrs were imprisoned and sentenced to death by King Mwanga of Buganda Kingdom. The Pontiff’s visit to this site coincided with the 50th anniversary of the canonisation of the Uganda Martyrs that had been undertaken by Pope Paul VI in 1964.
Hundreds of believers, including 24 newly married couples, waited for him to arrive and bless them. Speaking to a mammoth crowd of believers, catechists, and teachers later in the night, Pope Francis glorified the name of Jesus Christ and preached the gospel of love and kindness.
“We stand here today in Munyonyo at the place where King Mwanga is determined to wipe out the followers of Christ. He failed in this, just as King Herod failed to kill Jesus.
“The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it. After seeing the fearless testimony of Saint Andrew Kaggwa and his companions, Christians in Uganda became even more convinced of Christ’s promises,” he said.
He added: “May Saint Andrew, your patron, and all the Ugandan catechist martyrs, obtain for you the grace to be wise teachers, men and women whose every word is filled with grace, convincing witnesses to the splendour of God’s truth and the joy of the Gospel!” Archbishop Kizito Lwanga told the believers that the Pope’s visit to the Shrine was of great significance.
Pope Francis interacts with former Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, the Rt Rev Stanley Ntagali, during his official visit to Uganda in 2015. Photo/File
Visiting Nalukolongo
House of Charity On Saturday, November 28, 2015, Pope Francis visited the Nalukolongo House of Charity for the elderly and disabled in Kampala. Here, he appealed to all parishes and communities in Uganda – and the rest of Africa – not to forget the poor.
He said the Gospel commands Christians to go out to the peripheries of society and find Christ in the suffering and those in need.
“The Lord tells us in no uncertain terms – that is what he will judge us on! How sad it is when our societies allow the elderly to be rejected or neglected! How wrong it is when the young are exploited by the modern-day slavery of human trafficking,” he said.
The Holy Father warned that selfishness and indifference will spread widely if Christians keep away from this pertinent issue.
“How many of our brothers and sisters are victims of today’s throwaway culture, which breeds contempt above all towards the unborn, the young, and the elderly! As Christians, we cannot simply stand by. Something must change! Our families need to become ever more evident signs of God’s patient and merciful love, not only for our children and elders, but for all those in need,” he added.
He said: “Our parishes must not close their doors or their ears to the cry of the poor. This is the royal road of Christian discipleship. In this way, we bear witness to the Lord who came not to be served, but to serve. In this way we show that people count more than things. That who we are is more important than what we possess…”
Ultimate assembly at Namugongo
The Daily Monitor on November 28, 2015, reported that a huge crowd greeted Pope Francis’s first Mass in Uganda, which he held at the Namugongo Catholic Martyrs Shrine, a day after he arrived in the country. Thousands had gathered at the shrine since the night of November 27, eager to welcome the Pope, who was meant to grace the belated 50th anniversary of the Canonisation of the Catholic martyrs.
“Their faith sought the good of all people, including the very king who condemned them for their Christian beliefs. Their response was to meet hatred with love, and thus radiate the splendour of the Gospel,” the Pope said.
He added: “We, too, have received the gift of the Spirit, to make us sons and daughters of God, but also so that we may bear witness to Jesus and make Him everywhere known and loved. We received the Spirit when we were reborn in baptism and we were strengthened by his gifts at our Confirmation.
“Every day, we are called to deepen the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, to “fan into flame” the gift of His divine love so that we may be a source of wisdom and strength to others.”
The Holy Father told the Christians that they could turn into the missionary disciples that Jesus Christ calls them to be only if they flame the gift of Spirit who dwells in them.
“This openness to others begins first in the family, in our homes where charity and forgiveness are learned, and the mercy and love of God made known in our parents’ love. It finds expression too in our care for the elderly and the poor, the widowed and the orphaned,” he said.
Archbishop Lwanga outlined to the Pope the major fruits of the canonisation of the martyrs 50 years later.
Mr Mathias Mpuuga, the former leader of the Opposition in Parliament, who was part of the Namugongo entourage, on April 21 said: “Recollections from his visit to Uganda were in his homily at Namugongo. He commanded us to always remember/ keep good memories of our lives as Christians, celebrate whenever we should, and do thanksgiving to God for everything He chooses for us!”
Commenting on his character, Mr Mpuuga said the Pope was humble and a true pastor who endeavored to look out for all the flock entrusted to him through his pleas to World leaders to care for the poor, those under the threat of war or facing persecution from their own governments, and the marginalised. Fr Ssemusu also said one thing which stood out from the Pope during his term of service was humility and bringing the church to the peripheries.
Call to clerics at Rubaga
Cathedral At Rubaga Cathedral, the Pope addressed priests, religious men and women, and seminarians and urged them to remain faithful to their calling through memory, fidelity, and prayer. He emphasised the importance of remembering the Uganda Martyrs and the need to continue to bear witness to their faith.
The Pope also warned against losing one’s spiritual foundation and warned that once a religious person or priest stops praying, they would have begun to lose their memory and fidelity.
“The most dangerous enemy of remembrance is forgetfulness, but it is not the only one. The most dangerous enemy of remembrance is when we take for granted everything we have received and everything that has been passed down to us,” he said.
The Pope also interacted with the young people at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala where he first listened to the testimonies of youths who had overcome drug addiction, domestic violence, among other bad habits before he preached the gospel of hope to them.
“When we have a negative experience… it is always possible to open up a horizon, to open it up by the power of Jesus,” Pope Francis said.
He challenged them: “Are you ready to turn hatred into love? Are you ready to turn war into peace?” With Pope Francis now going to sleep forever, Buule and other people who got the chance to interact with him, on April 21 said the Pontiff’s visit to Uganda was a blessing to the nation.
