Hundreds of Rwandan pilgrims, including eight Catholic bishops, are in Uganda for the annual Uganda Martyrs Day celebrations taking place on June 3 at the Catholic Shrine of Namugongo in Kampala. ALSO READ: Rwandan Christians pay homage to Uganda Martyrs The event, one of the largest Christian pilgrimages in Africa, draws millions of believers each year to honour the 45 Ugandan martyrs, 22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans killed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda for refusing to renounce their faith. In Uganda, June 3 is a public holiday, and thousands of people begin the pilgrimage on foot, camping at the shrine days before the main celebration. ALSO READ: The Ugandan Martyrs’ unforgettable act of love This year, more than 200 Rwandan pilgrims have travelled to Uganda, according to Father Vedaste Kayisabe, the Secretary General of the Council of Catholic Bishops in Rwanda. “We have a large group of Rwandan pilgrims here, especially from the Archdiocese of Kigali, but also from the dioceses of Nyundo, Ruhengeri, and Kibungo. We are accompanied by eight bishops from Rwanda,” he said in an interview with The New Times. Among the Rwandan delegation is Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, the Archbishop of Kigali, who presided over a mass on Monday, June 2, at the Basilica Minor of Munyonyo, the site where Saint Andrew Kaggwa, one of the Uganda Martyrs, was executed. “We have concluded the mass in Munyonyo, where we remembered the martyrs who were killed here. Tomorrow, June 3, we will join thousands of other Christians at Namugongo for the main celebration,” Fr. Kayisabe said. Many of the pilgrims left Rwanda days earlier, some traveling by bus and others by air. The early arrival allowed them time to rest before beginning the more intense parts of the pilgrimage. Some pilgrims have been camping at the shrine for over a week. The trip was organized in part by a group of Christians from Saint Charles Lwanga Nyamirambo Parish in Kigali. The parish, named after one of the Uganda Martyrs, has for years played a central role in coordinating the annual pilgrimage. “There’s a group at Saint Charles Lwanga in Nyamirambo that prepares and organizes the trip. People pay for their transport, meals, and everything else. It costs around $100 per person,” Fr. Kayisabe explained. The pilgrimage holds a spiritual significance for Rwandan Catholics, many of whom see it as a time to reflect on faith, courage, and sacrifice, he said. “Rwandans feel a strong connection to this place since the missionaries who started the evangelization in Uganda, the White Fathers, are the same who came to Rwanda. Bishop John Joseph Hirth, who worked in Uganda and Bukoba, in Tanzania, later became the first bishop of Kabgayi in Rwanda. His body is buried at the cathedral in Kabgayi.” This shared religious heritage is the reason why Rwandans participate in the pilgrimage. “There is a relationship. Those who evangelized here also brought the faith to Rwanda. The history is intertwined. The Uganda Martyrs’ commitment to their faith is an example for Rwandan Christians. They were young men who accepted to die for their faith. Their testimony is powerful; when Rwandans come to Namugongo, they meditate on that strength and are spiritually renewed. They see that it is possible to have a faith that is firm and courageous,” Kayisabe stated. The Catholic Shrine of Namugongo, where the majority of the martyrs were executed, is the focal point of the June 3 commemorations. The journey often begins at other main sites linked to the martyrs’ final days, including Munyonyo, where several were first imprisoned and sentenced to death.
