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| Rt. Rev. Joseph Franzelli, Bishop of Lira |
300 Pilgrims from Lira Diocese in Northern Uganda Monday May 18 started their pilgrimage on foot to Namugongo Shrines, a journey of about 384 km.
The group which was flagged off by the Bishop of Lira Diocese, Rt. Rev Joseph Franzelli at 2 am is expected to arrive to Namugongo on 1 June 2015. During the event, Bishop Franzelli appealed to all Christians to take the opportunity of the celebrations to renew their faith in God and desist from perceiving their journey as a mere tour to Namugongo.
The Diocese of Lira will lead this year’s liturgical celebration under the theme, ‘Called to be Witnesses of Christ in the Family and in the Society’ (conf. Acts 1:5). Lira Diocese last led the celebrations at Namugongo in 1999.
Meanwhile, eight pilgrims from Lira District, in Northern Uganda are expected to set-off next week on Monday, May 25 by bicycle to Namugongo, the Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine in Kampala (about 220 km) for the celebration slated for June 3.
The eight pilgrims, who comprise of seven men and one woman, will be flagged from Lira town by the Bishop of Lira Diocese, Rt. Rev Joseph Franzelli. Their anticipated date of arrival is Monday June 1.
Chairperson of the Animation and Publicity Committee for Lira diocese, Fr Vallente Opio said the group is set to spend ten days on the road.
The 45 Uganda Martyrs were both Catholic and Protestants Christian converts, murdered on orders of Buganda’s Kabaka Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887.
The celebrations are usually held at both the Catholic and the Protestant Shrines, with the majority of the pilgrims in attendance coming from Rwanda, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and DR Congo, besides Uganda.
By Jacinta Wangalwa Odongo, Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference UEC