St Kizito pilgrimage site reopens after two years

The shrine that has since been gazetted by the Catholic Church under the Episcopal Conference, a religious and tourism site, in partnership with the Uganda Tourism Board was last Sunday a busy area as Christians turned up in droves for the annual pilgrimage.

In his sermon, Lugazi Bishop Emeritus Mathias Ssekamanya congratulated Christians for their tireless efforts to follow in the feet of the saints, including the Uganda Martyrs that is exhibited in the annual pilgrimage to the different holy places for holy Mass.

“St Kizito had a character that was cherished by Christians. We don’t only remember him as the youngest of the Uganda Martyrs, but choosing to give his life to Christ despite the persecution,” the prelate said.

Bishop Ssekamanya said parents should allow their children to go to church and serve God in the different capacities while paying attention to their behaviours.

 Waluleeta shrine, where the Church has preserved particular artifacts gathered over a period of years with a replica of the early home of St Kizito, is among the religious tourism sites that have been secured for religious tourism in Uganda.

The shrine traces its roots from the tireless effort made by the Late Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, as pioneer bishop of Kasana –Luweero Diocese in 1995, when he reached out to elders and people who had connection to the possible close and surviving relatives of St Kizito at his birth place at Waluleeta.

Later, Archbishop Lwanga arranged for mapping of the area and had graves of some of the very close relatives of St Kizito reconstructed as part of the artifacts. The graves are only a few metres away from the famous Mvule tree. A replica of the home, a small hut, a kitchen and sculptor of St Kizito with a Holy Bible and a cross in his hands are some of the pronounced features one will find at the shrines.

In July 2016, the Uganda Episcopal Conference officially sanctified the St Kizito Holy Shrines as part of the Holy pilgrimage sites under the Catholic Church. The shrines had earlier been decreed by Kasana-Luweero Diocese for annual pilgrimage. 

The Uganda Tourism Board approved the Waluleeta Holy Shrines as one of the religious tourism sites in Uganda in the year 2018.

About the shrines

Waluleeta Holy Shrine is located about 7kms off the Kampala-Gulu highway from Wobulenzi Town in Luweero District.

Every last Sunday of the month of July, Christians from the Catholic denomination, particularly those hailing from the Greater Luweero areas, trek to the shrine to pay homage to St Kizito, the youngest of the Uganda Martyrs. St Kizito is the   Patron Saint of Kasana-Luweero Diocese and many other institutions.

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