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Christians to celebrate 75th anniversary of martyrs’ shrine
Fr Augustine Kato, (L) sprinkles holy water on some of the Christians after contributing money for the Platinum celebrations of Namugongo Shrine Parish on Sunday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA
What you need to know:
The parish which is home to the Uganda Martyrs Shrine will also build a nursery school as one of the projects to mark the 75th anniversary.
KAMPALA- The Catholic Church is fundraising for Shs38 million for celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Namugongo Shrine Parish.
The parish is home to the Uganda Martyrs shrine, a place where millions of Christians from all over the world come to commemorate Uganda Martyrs Day, every June 3.
“It is only two weeks left to the celebrations but out of a budget of Shs38 million there is only Shs5 million. As Christians, let us contribute so that we can make this celebration a success,” Fr Augustine Kato, the parish priest, told a congregation on Sunday at the parish.
The platinum celebrations under the theme: “united we grow in faith like the Uganda Martyrs” will be held on March 2, and will be presided over by Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, the Archbishop of Kampala.
Fr Kato told the Daily Monitor that to commemorate the 75 years, the organising committee had embarked on construction of a nursery school as the platinum project.
It is estimated the project will cost over Shs200 million.
Namugongo Shrine Parish started as a small sub-Parish of Nsambya with its grass-thatched church at present day Kyaliwajjala Trading Centre, a stone’s throw away from the shrine.
Later, young Dutch Mill Hill Father, Watters bought eight acres of land where the Shrine stands and this marked the beginning of advocating for a parish at the spot where St Charles Lwanga gave up his life for Christ.
