Namugongo fill up of pilgrimages a sign of local tourism to flurish in near future

The Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, used the yesterday’s Martyrs day celebrations to ask each Catholic to contribute at least Shs 1,000 per month to help expand the Uganda Martyrs Shrine at Namugongo. He further stated that over one million people attended. This where the local tourism can be planned to be developed in the country. The ceremony was caroled by the Karamanjongo singers.

Speaking during Mass, the archbishop said contributions would be made through mobile money with the help of telecom service provider MTN Uganda. The church also welcomed individual pledges to help turnaround the Shrine in Namugongo built in 1920. Archbishop Lwanga said the martyrs had become an international symbol, drawing attention and tourists from all over the world.

Over one million pilgrims, he said, attended this year’s celebration, the biggest number ever. If at least one million people heed to the call, the church will be able to raise Shs 1 billion every month and Shs 12 billion by the end of the year.

“In July, I will launch a campaign to contribute Shs 1,000 every month for one year and if each one contributed, we will do wonders to this place and have better facilities for pilgrims,” Lwanga said at the celebrations that also marked the Golden Jubilee of the canonization of the martyrs by Pope Paul VI during his visit to Uganda.

He said the current facilities at the shrine cannot accommodate the millions of pilgrims who flock Namugongo every year. While thousands get the chance to walk into the gates and attend Mass around the manmade lake, thousands more are left stranded outside. This year’s event was attended by President Yoweri Museveni, Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, UPC president Olara Otuunu, Conservative Party President John Ken Lukyamuzi and the widow of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.