The East African Diaspora Media Watch (EADM)

In Summary: Since it had been just a question of time for Sunday June 15th, 2025, to dawn, it has. The time is now. The mission to pull off one of the most momentous Feast of the Uganda Martyrs in Boston is fait accompli! And what is clear and reassuring is that the UCCB executive turned the page and adopted a unique and different approach to organizing the Feast of the Uganda Martyrs. The Catholic Church declared 2025 a Jubilee Year, with the theme “Oh Lord, let me see again, I, your pilgrim of hope." A palpable sense of expectation and hope pervades the air. This Sunday June 15th, 2025, was much anticipated. Now it is here. The Feast of the Uganda Martyrs is on. Bishop Jjumba of Masaka is in town. The Choristers are set. The faithful are gathering. The procession is assembling. Pews are filling. Everything happens in Boston. Whenever it comes to matters Ugandan, Boston often sets the pace. It is doing it again. It has a pedigree. It has the numbers. It has the social capital. It is the to go place. Change happens here. And UMD25 is a unique reflection of some of that. The organization format is new. The faces are new. For UMD25, a woman holds the leading role. She leads members of a small community, St. Francis Xervier. It is in charge of organizing the Feast of the Martyrs. It is novelty over tradition. “Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert,” (Isaiah 43:19). I see it!

By Samuel Muwanguzi

Boston, Massachusetts—The Feast of the Uganda Martyrs is underway this Sunday with hundreds of jubilant Catholic faithfuls flocking to Mary’s Parish in Waltham, Massachusetts to honor the legacy of the 22 youthful Ugandan Catholics who defied orders to denounce their faith and were executed at Namugongo near Kampala between 1885 and 1887. The Feast of the Martyrs will be marked with a Holy Mass, dinner, and festivities, immortalizing the faith of the Uganda Martyrs, according to the executive secretary of the Ugandan Catholic Community in the Archdiocese of Boston (UCCB), Ms. Lydia Nakimuli. Declared a Jubilee Year by the Roman Catholic church, the 2025 Feast of the Martyrs is being marked under the theme “Oh Lord, let me see again, I, your pilgrim of hope.” “This theme will echo  throughout the celebratory weekend in the melodious hymns and skits by the UCCB choir, actors, and children praising the Uganda Martyrs, reinforcing the legacy of faith and courage that led to their martyrdom,” Ms. Lydia Nakimuli observed.

The UCCB is a community-based faith organization that brings together Catholics of Ugandan descent and their relatives and friends who reside in Massachusetts and in the neighboring states. The UCCB is led by an executive committee headed by a president/chairperson. The current executive is retiring this year having served a total of 4 years; 2 terms a piece. Members of UCCB are part of the St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham where Fr. Michael Noland is the Parish Priest. Fr. John Bosco Lugonja is the Chaplain of UCCB. The Ugandan Catholic Community in the Archdiocese of Boston (UCCB) has an estimated membership of over 600.

The celebrations will commence with a Holy Mass at 12:30 pm at St. Mary’s Parish, located at 133 School Street, Waltham, MA. His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Serverus Jjumba, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masaka will be the main Celebrant at the Holy mass.

Bishop Serverus Jjumba, who arrived here in Boston on Thursday June 12th, 2025, was welcomed to the Commonwealth State of Massachusetts at the Logan International airport in Boston by some of the members of the UCCB executive committee led by the president, Mr. Michael Mukisa, Catholic priests, and excited children of UCCB members who sang welcoming songs for the Bishop.

Others included Mrs. Annette Byaruhanga, chairperson of the St. Francis Xavier small community (cluster) aka akabondo, one of the UCCB small communities that is taking the lead in organizing the celebrations this year. Following the conclusion of last year’s Feast of the Martyrs’ celebrations, the Uganda Martyrs’ Day (UMD) committee resolved that each year, the overall organization of the annual Feast of the Martyrs would be led by members of one of the small communities (akabondo).

 “The rationale of changing the organizational format was to enable members of UCCB to own the event, feel a sense of belonging, and help find and groom new leaders,” Salongo Charles Mukuba told me. He said the change is already paying off dividends. “The involvement of the community members is unprecedented.” “Small community leaders are taking the lead in mobilizing the members to participate in all activities and they have helped to generate excitement and expectations that committee leaders were not able to realize,” the retiring chairperson of Uganda Martyrs Day (UMD) after serving 4 years at the helm. Salongo Mukuba said. “Change is here.” “Let’s embrace it,” Salongo Charles Mukuba told me.

The Feast of the Uganda Martyrs at St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham, Massachusetts is held annually, days after the main event held in Uganda, at Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine near Kampala. This year’s event In Uganda, held on Tuesday June 3rd, 2025, attracted hundreds of thousands of Ugandan pilgrims and visitors from across Africa and beyond who converged at the Namugongo Ugandan Martyrs Shrine to commemorate the feast of the 22 Catholic youths. The valiant faithfuls were executed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of Buganda King Daniel Mwanga II for refusing to renounce their faith.

This year’s Feast of the Uganda Martyrs in Boston, Massachusetts, will be the first to be held during the papacy of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, the first ever American Pope, who was elected on May 8th, 2025. Pope Leo XIV, formerly Robert Francis Prevost succeeded Pope Francis who died on April 21st, 2025, on Easter Monday. The expectation is that the pilgrims will pray in thanksgiving for the gift of the new Pope and for the late Pope Francis to rest in eternal peace.

Ahead of the celebrations, the UCCB choir at St. Mary’s Parish is leaving no stone unturned; the choir has been going through daily rehearsals to ensure that music  during the holy mass is at its highest fidelity. The Choristers are expected to lead and animate the liturgical celebration of Holy Mass. Mr. Michael Mukisa, the president of UCCB, Mr. George Ssebutinde, and Mr. Lawrance Ssemanda are leading and fine-tuning the vocalists to perfect their codes and lines before the highly anticipated holy mass.

“I am confident that the choir is ready to perform to the best of its ability and to the highest expectations of the congregation," Mr. George Sebutinde told me. Expectations are high that the UCCB choir will show-up and simulate a harmonious and choreographed musical ensemble to light-up the festivities. “All the three choir leaders are very experienced and highly competent directors and composers," the ebullient Lydia Nakimuli told me. “One of the leaders, she disclosed, Mr. Lawrance Ssemanda, is an award-winning gem recognized by the Masaka Diocese for his immense contribution to the enrichment of liturgical music in the Diocese.”

Not to be left behind, children of the UCCB members and St. Mary’s parishioners are being drilled in their roles to entertain the congregation and guests through music, dance, recitations, and other performances during the mass at St. Mary’s parish and the dinner at the Marriot, respectively. While the UCCB children ministry is led by Ms. Gloria Namatovu Ssebutende and Godfrey Muwulya, John Martin Kewaza and Bernard Kiweewa are working round the clock to train the children to perfect their dancing moves and other performance related skills.

Additionally, to ensure that this year’s celebration is vibrant, enlightening, and entertaining, skits are being planned to showcase the sacrifice and pain endured by the martyrs on the account of their faith. Fr. Vincent Kafuma, Sister Justine Babirye, and Sister Paskvia Nakitende are investing their time and energy training the actors who will perform several skits to entertain the guests during the dinner at the Marriot. All the skits are based on this year’s theme: “Oh Lord, let me see again, I, your pilgrim of hope.”

Meanwhile,22 young male parishioners are also undergoing intense practice to re-enact the various torture scenes the Martyrs endured before their final execution at Namugongo near Kampala. These UMD Representatives will also be part of the procession that precedes the bishop as he enters the church. They are typically dressed like the Martyrs. They are quite a sight to behold!

According to Mr. Geoffrey Kaweesa, the UMD 25 Head of Publicity, the celebration will be attended by numerous pilgrims, including religious leaders from the USA and overseas. He said that this year, 2025, declared a Jubilee year by the Catholic Church under the Theme, “Pilgrims of Hope," resonates deeply with the significance of the Uganda Martyrs' Day, as it honors the martyrdom and perseverance of the saints who remained steadfast in their faith despite intense persecution.

Following the Mass, the community and guests will gather for dinner and entertainment at the Boston Marriott Newton, located at 2345 Commonwealth Avenue, Auburndale, MA 02466. Tickets for the dinner are available on the UBCC website at:

www.uccb.us

There are 3 categories of ticket prices including Adults: $200; Young Adults (ages 13-22): $100; and Children: $50.

Meanwhile, in preparation for this year’s Feast of the Uganda Martyrs, the parish has been holding a novena of Masses that started on June 6th through June 14th to pray for the success of the celebration. Groups of faithfuls have been flocking the parish to join in the prayers, praise, worship, and to witness the love of Christ and the hope portrayed by the martyrs. “It has been a week of celebrating Martyrs’ Day with prayer and penance,” the reflective Ms. Lydia Nakimuli told me.

Since it had been just a question of time for Sunday June 15th, 2025, to dawn, it has. The time is now. The mission to pull off one of the most momentous Feast of the Uganda Martyrs in Boston is fait accompli! And what is clear and reassuring is that the UCCB executive turned the page and adopted a unique and different approach to organizing the Feast of the Uganda Martyrs. The Catholic Church declared 2025 a Jubilee Year, with the theme “Oh Lord, let me see again, I, your pilgrim of hope." A palpable sense of expectation and hope pervades the air. This Sunday June 15th, 2025, was much anticipated. Now it is here. The Feast of the Uganda Martyrs is on. Bishop Jjumba of Masaka is in town. The Choristers are set. The faithful are gathering. The procession is assembling. Pews are filling. Everything happens in Boston. Whenever it comes to matters Ugandan, Boston often sets the pace. It is doing it again. It has the pedigree. It has the numbers. It has the social capital. It is the to go place. Change happens here. And UMD25 is a unique reflection of some of that. The organization format is new. The faces are new. For UMD25, the leading role is held by a woman. She leads members of a small community, St. Francis Xervier. It is in charge of organizing the Feast of the Martyrs. It is novelty over tradition. “Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert,” (Isaiah 43:19). I see it!