As the long awaited day for the pilgrims is hours away, the church organizers are confident that they are ready for the day. Preparations have been ongoing since the year began. The Anglican Martyrs Site is fully ready and has a brand new sparkling look of the Amphitheatre.
“We are really excited and happy that our building project of the Amphitheatre is 99.9% complete and can be used tomorrow. There is enough space for all pilgrims to sit, in the newly constructed shades. Also we have completed our museum and everyone is welcome to come and learn more about the martyrs here,” said Bishop Jackson Matovu, the Chairman Organizing committee.
As for the Catholic Martyrs Shrine, everything is set for the service tomorrow. The decorating team just finalized the final décor for the altar.
The team meant to lead liturgy and choir of the day at the Catholic Shrine is Jinja Diocese who started preparations in October after being informed about their leading, according to Rev. Father Kenneth Orom of Jinja Diocese.
“We as the choir of the Jinja diocese we were excited to find out that we had been chosen to lead the mass this year. We started preparing in October 2022 and came here for the final preparation last week. We are ready to give you the best you have ever since the Martyrs day celebrations started.” Said Rev. Father Orom.
Fr. Romano Iga said that they started preparations way back in October, 2022 and it was a big privilege for them to be selected to lead.
The team going to lead the mass at the Catholic Shrine is composed of over 800 people with 400 choir members, and the theme for the year is “Lord Increase our Faith (Luke 17:5)” that was selected by Bishop Martin Charles Wamika. The choirs have spent one week at the shrines rehearsing songs for the D-day.
Every 3rd June, pilgrims gather at the Anglican and Catholic Martyrs Shrines to remember and celebrate the 45 Martyrs that were burnt to ashes by the Chief executor, Mukajanga under the orders of Kabaka Muwanga from Namugongo.
