UGANDA: Cardinal Sarah Officially Commissions Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine a Minor Basilica
On Monday, July 29 2019, Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine in Uganda was officially declared a Minor Basilica.
The decree on behalf of Pope Francis was signed by the Vatican Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, His Eminence Robert Cardinal Sarah. This followed the Pope’s approval of an application that was presented by the Archbishop of Kampala, Most Rev. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga to elevate Munyonyo Church to the status of minor Basilica.
Cardinal Sarah officially commissioned the minor Basilica during his visit to Uganda for the SECAM Golden Jubilee celebration and 18th Plenary Assembly that was held in Kampala from July 19-29.
He commissioned the Minor Basilica in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio to Uganda, H.E. Luigi Bianco, fellow cardinals, archbishops, bishops and priests who were in Uganda to attend SECAM celebrations. The ceremony was also attended by the Vice President of Uganda, Edward Ssekandi, and thousands of faithful.
In his speech, the Cardinal told the faithful that he hopes the new Basilica will continue to be a favorite place to compliment encounter with God adding “it should be a place where many Christians experience God’s forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.”
The significance of this place cannot be over-emphasized in the history of the Church in Uganda as it was at Munyonyo where Kabaka (King) Mwanga of Buganda Kingdom made the fateful decision to begin putting the 45 Martyrs (22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans) to death for refusing to denounce their faith. The blood of the Uganda Martyrs was first shed on the soil around Munyonyo before embarking to Namugongo for final executions where majority of them were killed from. Saints Andrew Kaggwa and Denis Ssebuwaawo were beheaded at Munyonyo on May 26, 1886.
Besides, in November 2015 during the historical visit of the Holy Father to Uganda, Pope Francis visited Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine where he met various Christians. The Holy Father also planted a unity tree together with the Anglican and Catholic bishops.
The Shrine was dedicated on October 28, 2017 by His Eminence Fernando Cardinal Filoni, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples in the Vatican.
A Minor Basilica is a Church granted with special ecclesiastical privileges by the Holy Father. The status is usually given to churches because of their antiquity, historical value, architectural worth and significance as centres of worship. According to the 1989 Vatican document Domus Ecclesiae, a basilica must stand out as a centre of active and pastoral liturgy.
Munyonyo will be the third place with such title in the country and 23rd on the continent of Africa. The first Basilica title in Uganda was granted in 1961 to Blessed Virgin Mary Church-Londonga in Yumbe District, located in Northern Uganda and Uganda Martyrs Namugongo Shrine by St. Pope John Paul II during his visit to Uganda in 1993. Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine will adopt the name Uganda Martyrs Basilica Munyonyo.
By Jacinta W. Odongo
Media Officer, Uganda Episcopal Conference
