Ugandan Martrys' Day

After having just arrived in Jinja on Thursday, we left again for the Kampala area on Saturday morning at 4:00am, a ride bound for the Uganda Martyrs’ Day Mass and celebration in Namugongo. The ride there lasted about 3 hours, and Celia and I ended up transferring from Fr. Prosper’s truck to a van where Avery and Justice were. The van had a special sticker that allowed us to get better parking for the event. After finding our seats among the priests, sisters, and brothers, virtually all of whom were from Africa, we stuck out like a sore thumb. (We later found out that there was a clip of us featured on Ugandan national television.) We sat for about two hours before Mass began at 9:30am. There were lots of dancers on the sidelines and a choir almost constantly singing. This year, the diocese of Jinja played a major role in the Mass, which was super cool that we were able to be there for that. There were between one and two million people here from the event, many of whom were from other parts of Africa (and some parts of the world). Many even came by foot, walking hundreds of miles to be here for the occasion. Basically everywhere you looked, there were people.

Mass started around 9:30am and lasted until 12:00pm, mostly because there was so much music, they read the homily in multiple different languages, and they had to distribute communion to hundreds of thousands of people. Though I was still jet lagged and hungry, the experience is one I will never forget. The way these people celebrate their faith with so much fervor and joy while still maintaining a state of veneration–especially when it came to everyone approaching each priest, eager to receive the Eucharist with hands outstretched–was such a refreshing way for me to lean into and celebrate my Catholic faith.

After trying to navigate the crowds getting back to the car and then for the first few miles while riding in the car, we were Jinja bound once more. On the way back, we stopped to eat some pork, cassava, and other Ugandan food and drinks.