 |
| Catholic priest carries a gold plated urn containing the martyrs bones |
Comment
The catholic church is really a
den of satan. Practices that do not feature any where in the New testament are
over the catholic satanic system. These
practices include the worship of dead persons’ remains. In Uganda
some of the bones of the so called Uganda martyrs have
been preserved by the catholic church and worshipped. They are tactfully called
relics by the catholic church instead of being called remains of dead persons. Catholics
in Uganda wear scapulas
around their necks with remains of dead Uganda
martyrs who were declared saints by Rome.
No wonder in Africa, Catholicism greatly
attracts wizards, cannibals and sorcerers.
No wonder wizards, sorcerers and even Cannibals in Africa find the catholic church a very comfortable place to be: Sedlec Ossuary: A catholic Church Decorated With Human Bones
Catholics in Uganda and else where believe that the dead
remains of Uganda
martyrs have healing powers . How can a religious institution indulge in the
worship of the dead and then claim to be Christian? Where is Jesus in all this?
Do we see any of this in the Acts of the apostles? Certainly not!! The catholic
church is wide road to hell, this masterpiece of Satan is leading millions of
people to eternal damnation(hell). No born again spirit filled person can remain
in the catholic satanic system.
Roman Catholicism and the Worship of the dead: Roman Catholics parade a boneless skull in France: Pope praises “saint” kept as dressed skeleton in Italy
Roman Catholicism and the worship of the dead XVII: Catholic priests worship corpse of Saint Ubaldo
In Namugongo, a place where the
Uganda Martyrs were burnt to death, catholic struggle for so called holy water from a man made lake. Catholics believe that this water has powers to cure
them from incurable ailments, while others believe the water gives them some
kind of protection from evil although scientists argue that it is contaminated with germs that cause diseases.
To scientists, it is not advisable to drink this water as it could lead to an
outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera, and typhoid among others. The
catholic church looks on as people take this dirty water and vaguely argues
says that, ‘’the reports of “miracles” resulting from taking the water from the
lake are still being compiled for the archbishop of Kampala to examine and
probably take action’’.
Must read:
Debunking the Uganda Martyrs Myth: Did these young men simply believe a lie???
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2009/06/debunking-uganda-martyrs-myth-did-these.html
When Catholics make a big fuss about Catholic martyrs and remain silent about the millions of protestant martyrs that were killed by the catholic church: Bishop Kakooza rallies Catholics for Martyrs’ day
http://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2014/05/when-catholics-make-big-fuss-about.html
When spiritually dead Roman Catholics repeatedly indulge in useless works(filthy rags) that can never save any body: 88-year old retired catechist walks 340km to Namugongo: 1,500 pilgrims arrive at Namugongo
Roman Catholic Necromancy – Praying to Dead Popes: The religion of Roman Catholicism is a religion of superstition, necromancy, gruesome relics, and all kinds of other wickedness. Be not deceived!
The Biblical Truth About Saints And Sainthood
Catholic Version of the Story ?
Who preserved the martyrs' remains?
Publish Date: Jun 03, 2014
A missionary priest carries a gold plated urn containing the martyrs bones. Photo/Steven Musoke
- In 1886, Mapeera (Fr. Simeon Lourdel) put the bones of the martyrs in a small metal case, dug a hole in the sacristy of their church in Rubaga and kept them there
The Uganda Martyrs were executed at Namugongo on the orders of Buganda’s Kabaka Mwanga II between November 1885 and January 1887.
PHOTOGRAPHY/Steven Musoke
The relics of the martyrs being carried to the main altar during the mass at Namugongo
Nobody could have predicted that the martyrs would become famous.
Most of them were burnt to ashes, but for Kalooli Lwanga and Matia
Mulumba, the story is different.At the time the martyrs were burnt, Buganda went through many inter-religious wars that posed a threat to the preservation of the martyrs’ relics.
In his book Eddiini mu Uganda, Fr.
J.L Ddiba, assisted by former Kampala Archbishop Joseph Kiwanuka and
Fr. Perinet, explain how the remains of the martyrs were preserved from
1886.
At 25, Kalooli (Luganda for Charles) Lwanga was the chief page at Mwanga’s palace, who protected the others from the Kabaka’s advances.
Ddiba wrote that on June 3, 1886, the day of the Feast of the Ascension, Lwanga was separated from the others at Namugongo and burnt a few metres away.
Fr.
Simeon Lourdel put the bones of the martyrs in a small metal case, dug
a hole in the sacristy of their church in Rubaga and kept them there
One Ssenkoole tied him down and set his feet on fire. As Lwanga
burnt, Ssenkoole promised he would put out the fire if he renounced his
faith, but Lwanga refused.According to the book, he mocked Ssenkoole, saying: “You are burning me, but it is as if you are pouring water over my body.” Lwanga eventually died under a ggirikiti (Erhrina Abyssinica) tree at Namugongo where the Martyrs Shrine stands today.
The book says the following day (June 4, 1886), one Matayo Kirevu went to the place and saw the bones that remained after Lwanga had been burnt.
Pilgrims from all over the world converge at Namugongo to pray for the intercession of the Uganda Martyrs
He narrated what he had seen to his friends and many people started
going to the place to see the remains of the brave young man. |
| Altar where Charles Lwanga was killed |
 |
| Catholics pray at the altar where Charles Lwanga was killed |
Later, on October 29, after Pere Simeon Lourdel (the Catholic missionary referred to as Mapeera), had returned from exile in Tanganyika, he was told of the brave men who had died for their faith.
When one Bazilio Kamya told him about Lwanga’s bones which had become a tourist attraction, Mapeera asked him to find a way of getting the bones to him.
The book adds that after a month, Kamya and his friend, Leo Lwanga, sneaked to Namugongo at night and collected the remains. They first wrapped them in Kamya’s cloth and then barkcloth.
By 8:00am the following day, they had delivered the bones to Mapeera’s home in Rubaga.
Mapeera cleaned and wrapped them in a red cloth, which they had used as a flag during their journey to Uganda. He then put them in a small metal case, dug a hole in the sacristy of their church in Rubaga and kept them there.
Matia Mulumba
These relics were presented at the St.Peter's Basilica during the canonisation of the Uganda Martyrs
After Christians realised Mapeera’s interest in the martyrs’ remains, they promised to get him those of Matthias (Matia) Mulumba Kalemba, who had been killed earlier during the martyrs’ journey from Munyonyo to Namugongo.
Mulumba, who was one of the oldest of the Kabaka’s pages, reportedly screamed: “God will rescue me. But you will not see how He does it because He will take my soul and leave you only my body.”
The executioners cut of his arms and legs and left him to die at present day Old Kampala, where the St. Matia Mulumba Parish Church stands.
The book says Mulumba died three days later. His body was eaten by animals, which scattered his bones. Although people knew where Mulumba’s remains were, they were afraid to give him a decent burial.
Christians later gathered Mulumba’s bones and took them to Mapeera, who, together with a colleague, labelled each one of them, wrapped them and kept them with Lwanga’s remains.
The remains are a great testament of the faith the Uganda Martyrs died for
Lost treasureOn October 12, 1888, during the war between Muslims and Christians, the missionaries fled back to Tanganyika. The church was burnt down during the fight and the place where it stood grew a bush.
By 1890, after Christians had chased away Muslims and the missionaries had returned, they could not locate the place where the church had been, and hence where the remains were.
According to Ddiba, this was a blessing in disguise. Had they found the case, they would have transferred it to Rubaga and it would then have been destroyed by the subsequent war between Catholics and Protestants, between 1890-1892.
Rubaga church was razed to the ground on January 24, 1892. Later, on November 13, 1892, a catechist who was digging, found the box intact.
Confusion
A painting depicting the martyrdom at present day Namugongo Catholic shrine
The book narrates that Msgr. Hirth hid the remains in Bukumbi-Tanganyika, which was more peaceful than Buganda.He put them in a case, on which he wrote: ‘The remains of Kalooli Lwanga’ and sent them to the priest’s house in Tanganyika.
 |
| Catholic Pilgrims drawing holy water at Namugongo Martyrs shrine |
In 1899, Msgr Streicher, who was the bishop of Buganda, brought back the case containing the remains. He thought it contained only Lwanga’s remains, until February 3, 1915, when the church, which had started the canonisation process, was doing research on the martyrs.
They discovered that the case also contained Mulumba’s bones. They were differentiated basing on how the martyrs died.
 |
| Pilgrims draw 'holy water' from the man-made lake at Namugongo Martyrs shrine |
The black bones were deemed to belong to Lwanga who had been burnt to death.
From 1915, the remains were stored at the Archbishop’s chapel at Rubaga. In 1964, the relics were taken to Rome during the canonisation of the martyrs and were placed in the Basilica of St. Peter.
When the Martyrs’ Shrine was built in Namugongo, some of the bones were placed under the altar, which is where Lwanga was killed. The rest were preserved in gold plated urns at the Archbishop’s place in Rubaga.
Fr. Joseph Mukasa Muwonge, the promoter of the Uganda Martyrs devotion, says the bones are always carried by priests of the congregations of the missionaries.
The miracles that made Uganda Martyrs saints
Publish Date: Jun 02, 2014
CLERGY in a procession to the altar to celebrate the Uganda martyrs Day last year
- Kalema was born deformed, but he can now walk, thanks to the martyrs
The miracle of the bubonic plague
In 1941, Sr. Philothy from Bannabikira, Bwanda in Masaka was struck by a strange disease and had to be sent to her brother for treatment.
Her brother, Andrew Ziryawulamu of Kisubi Parish in Wakiso district, took her to one Dr. Ahmed, who confirmed that it was bubonic plague (kawumpuli).
The nuns who were healed of bubonic plague through the intercession of the Uganda Martyrs
There was no treatment for bubonic plague and so, Philothy had to be quarantined at Rubaga convent in Kampala.When she passed on, she was buried at Rubaga by only two nuns, Sr. M. Aloyse Criblet and Sr. Richildis.
However, soon after the burial, the two nuns contracted the disease. Dr. Ahmed and his colleague, Dr. Reynolds, prescribed a quarantine.
Msgr. Edward Michaud and Pere Joseph Cabana, who was the parish priest of Rubaga, called for a novena through
the martyrs over the sick nuns.
After protracted prayers for three days, the doctors were amazed to find both nuns had recovered.
A photo of Kalema (left) in his childhood with curved legs.
Rome commissioned specialists to analyse the diagnosis, medicines and
interview the two doctors — Dr. Ahmed, a Muslim and Dr. Reynolds, an
Anglican.The conclusion was that not only was the medicine the nuns were taking ineffective against the plague, but even if it had been effective, it could not have produced results in such a short time.
The miracle of the carved legs
Salongo Revocato Kalema’s case was also registered as one of the Uganda Martyrs’ miracles. Kalema was born with carved legs.
However, today, he has a different story to tell. He can walk and stand straight.
And Kalema has told his story to all parishes where Kampala Archbishop Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga has gone to popularise the jubilee year of the Uganda Martyrs.
Kalema was born on June 11, 1959 in the Catholic Parish of Bigada near Kyotera town in Rakai district.
His mother, Josephine Namuddu, died only months after giving birth to him, leaving him with his father, who also died a year later.
Kalema was left in the care of an aged grandmother, Clara Najjemba.
Fortunately, the Good Samaritan Sisters of Bwanda offered to look after him and took him to their main convent at Bigada in Rakai.
It was at that time that the Catholic church announced that they were looking for miracles for the canonisation of the Uganda Martyrs.
The martyrs’ relics were also taken to Bwanda Convent where people prayed in earnest for miracles through the martyrs’ intercession.
According to Lwanga, the church mobilised people to recite novenas through the martyrs and all miracle claims were reported to Rome.
Two special ones were selected and presented to Rome. Kalema was young, but the story has been told to him so
many times. He says:
Kalema shows off one of his once curved legs. Photo/Juliet Lukwago
“I was told that I was born deformed and was presented for a novena
for miracles at Bwanda Convent. Nuns placed me at the altar in the main
church, where the martyrs’ relics were and prayed for me. I was told
that Maria Mutagamba (the Minister of Tourism) was among the children
who used to pray for me.”Mutagamba confirmed Kalema’s story, saying: “I was young, but older than Kalema. The nuns, who were our teachers, told us to pray for him. We used to carry Kalema from his home to the parish, before they took him into the convent,” she said.
Kalema said the miracle happened on the sixth day of the novena. “There was a girl who had been assigned the duty of carrying me to and from the church. She used to take me there every morning, take me back for lunch, take me back to church in the afternoon and then collect me in the evening.
One day, she came to pick me and didn’t find me where she had placed me. She said she thought someone had transferred me from the room.
Through the intercession of the Uganda Martyrs Kalema can now walk, normally. Photo/Juliet Lukwago
She panicked and started looking all over the place for me. She
wailed when she found me moving among the pews,” Kalema narrated.He adds that news travelled fast and people stormed the church to see what had happened. They found him standing and supporting himself on pews, as he tried to take steps.
The nuns lifted Kalema and checked his legs. His feet were straight enough to support him!
“By evening, I was walking. I was told this was one of the miracles God had done through the Uganda Martyrs that were presented in Rome as a testimony for them to be beatified, canonised and eventually announced saints by the Pope.”
Kalema was later taken to hospital where his legs were straightened.
Martyrs become saints
In 1920, the congregation for the Causes of the Saints in Rome voted in favour of the Martyrs’ beatification and three weeks later, Pope Benedict XV granted it.
The beatification ceremony was held at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on June 6, 1920. The martyrs henceforth became the Blessed Martyrs.
According to the Canonisation process, any candidate who reaches the Blessed stage, needs at least two more miracles to become a saint. But for the martyrs, that stage was waived because martyrdom is considered a certification of witnessing faith and/or an act of heroic charity for others.
So, from 1920 onwards, the Blessed Martyrs, were publicly revered till October 18, 1964, when Pope Paul VI canonised them during the third session of the Vatican II conference.
That Sunday, October 18, 1964, over 165 pilgrims from Uganda attended the St. Peter’s Basilica canonisation.
The Ugandan delegation included Fr. Emmanuel Wamala (now Cardinal), Sr. Criblet and the former Archbishop of Rubaga, Joseph Nakabaale Kiwanuka, who led the delegation.
Namugongo’s waters of life
Pilgrims draw water from the man-made lake at Namugongo yesterday. They believe it to be holy. PHOTO BY ISAAC KASAMANI
By Mike Ssegawa
Posted Friday, June 3 2011 at 00:00One of the attractions at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine is a manmade lake surrounding the altar from where mass is celebrated to commemorate the proclamation to sainthood of the first group of Ugandans to be enrolled on the list of Catholic saints.
Posted Friday, June 3 2011 at 00:00One of the attractions at Namugongo Martyrs Shrine is a manmade lake surrounding the altar from where mass is celebrated to commemorate the proclamation to sainthood of the first group of Ugandans to be enrolled on the list of Catholic saints.
The Anglican Church also has its shrine a few
kilometres from which several martyrs were killed. The hundreds of
pilgrims, who flock to Namugongo to celebrate Uganda Martyrs Day drink,
wash or carry home the water drawn from the lake with a belief that the
“holy” water has powers to cure them from incurable ailments, while
others believe the water gives them some kind of protection from evil.
However, Fr Joseph Mukasa Muwonge, a Catholic
priest familiar with the history of the lake at the Uganda martyrs
shrine, says the water is not holy. He says the process is long to claim
so, but, he adds, some devotees have reported cures which they can
neither refute nor support. Therefore, he advises users to be cautious.
He also says the lake is man-made but has come to
signify the beauty and wonders of Namugongo in the mind of both pilgrims
and tourists who come to the shrine.
Fr Muwonge, a priest at Namugongo Catholic shrine,
is also cautious to call “holy” the water at Namugongo. He says despite
some reports they have received of “miraculous interventions”, it is up
to the archbishop of Kampala, in consultation with other bishops around
the country, and after careful examination by Vatican, that such a
pronouncement can be made. He says such a proclamation is yet to be
made.
Fr Muwonge philosophically says the water in
Namugongo comes to life because it flows constantly. He adds “God can
use anything to do his wonders”. However, he advises whoever takes water
from Namugongo to first boil it, before they use it because it is
apparently “dirty”.
Fr Muwonge says the reports of “miracles”
resulting from taking the water from the lake are still being compiled
for the archbishop of Kampala to examine and probably take action.
A little history
There was never a lake at Namugongo but a little stream going through a swamp from where Msgr. Lawrence Mbwenga used to grow yams, cabbages and sugarcane.
There was never a lake at Namugongo but a little stream going through a swamp from where Msgr. Lawrence Mbwenga used to grow yams, cabbages and sugarcane.
Actually at the site of the shrine, only one
martyr was killed there. His name was Charles Lwanga. But now, a relic
of Charles Lwanga is being kept under the altar on the island in the
middle of the magnificent lake, from where a mammoth crowd pays its
devotion.
Msgr. Mbwenga, who passed away three years ago and
native of Buvuma Island, however, got this idea of opening up a place
with a larger water basin which could remind him of the scenery back
home. He started piling up mud at one place as he expanded the pond from
which he grew fish.
Fr Mbwenga conceived the idea of placing an altar
on the mud in 1950s from which pilgrims would see the priest as he
conducted mass.
The devotion to Uganda Martyrs grew in leaps and bounds as they were proclaimed saints by Pope Paul VI.
The devotion to Uganda Martyrs grew in leaps and bounds as they were proclaimed saints by Pope Paul VI.
Fr Mbwenga’s idea intrigued the then archbishop of Kampala, Emmanuel Nsubuga, who was going to host Pope Paul VI in 1969.
According to Fr Muwonge, the archbishop saw the small island with a pile of mud from which Fr Mbwenga says mass for pilgrims as the perfect spot for the Pope to say his last mass in Uganda and also commemorate the Uganda Martyrs. He brought the graders to expand the water basin and compiled the mud in one place which was elevated to become the altar it is today.
According to Fr Muwonge, the archbishop saw the small island with a pile of mud from which Fr Mbwenga says mass for pilgrims as the perfect spot for the Pope to say his last mass in Uganda and also commemorate the Uganda Martyrs. He brought the graders to expand the water basin and compiled the mud in one place which was elevated to become the altar it is today.
And when the late pope John Paul II came to Uganda
in 1993, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala asked the then chancellor of Kampala
Archdiocese, Fr Kizito Lwanga, to expand and beautify the lake further,
giving it a stone fence and more shelters from where pilgrims today sit
or stand to say mass. Dr Kizito Lwanga is now the archbishop of Kampala.
The water in Namugongo though is an attraction to
many the devotees. The relic (a bone) of Charles Lwanga, one of the
martyrs is placed under the altar on the island, and for devotees, the
eternal light before the bone is a source of inspiration that whatever
surrounds is a holy too.
It is Martyrs day again, and thousands of pilgrims have thronged Namugongo Catholic Martyrs shrine in Kampala, where 14 of the 24 Uganda martyrs offered their life for Christ.
Pilgrims savour water, booze at Namugongo
Tuesday, 04 June 2013 21:38
An estimated one million pilgrims made it to Namugongo
It is Martyrs day again, and thousands of pilgrims have thronged Namugongo Catholic Martyrs shrine in Kampala, where 14 of the 24 Uganda martyrs offered their life for Christ.
The prayers are held in a pavilion which
is surrounded by a manmade lake believed to be sacred by many pilgrims.
They scramble for water from this lake, which is said to heal diseases
and bring blessings of other kinds. The pavilion can be seen from all
angles of the over 15-acre shrine compound. It is inside this pavilion
where the main celebrant sits on the big occasion June 3.
As the main celebrant, Archbisop Paul
Bakyenga of Mbarara diocese, leads the prayers, many pilgrims are seen
drawing water from the lake. The pilgrims attach a lot to the lake
basing on the belief that God blessed the martyrs and so the water at
the spot on which one of the martyrs, Karoli Lwanga, was killed is also
holy.
Using numerous containers, the pilgrims
draw water to take home, although it is greenish and dirty. Some
pilgrims are drinking the water directly from the lake. And by evening
the water level is down. To scientists, it is not advisable to drink
this water as it could lead to an outbreak of waterborne diseases such
as cholera, and typhoid among others, but to the believers it is a
source of medicine as they claim to have been healed by this water.
Many people have different views and give testimonies about this water healing them of various diseases.
“The water is used for many things. I
cannot explain how it works but it depends on one’s faith. At my home,
there are things that used to come and disturb me in the house but when I
sprinkled this water around, they stopped, and my house became
comfortable,” said Ruta Kyaruzi from Tanzania.
“I even had rats in the house, the
moment I started sprinkling every day as I prayed, the rats disappeared.
The water can make wonders if you believe.”
He, however, says whenever he is going to drink the water, he has to first boil it.
“Things of religion are not easy to
understand, many people use this water unboiled but they don’t fall
sick; so, I can’t tell the magic, but for me I boil it before drinking
it,” Kyaruzi explains.
Shalot Makumbere from Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) notes that she saw the water help her
neighbour’s child who fell sick and decided to travel to Uganda to
collect it.
“My neighbour’s kid fell sick but when
they applied the water, she got better, I decided to come and collect it
to help my people at home. But I believe that for it to work well, you
also have to go to hospital and get medication,” Makumbere said
Booze and pork outside
But outside the shrine it is a different
scenario as pilgrims drown themselves in booze. As the archbishop
preached about emulating the martyrs and avoiding evil activities, some
people were already too lost in booze.
Even those who prayed to the last minute
joined in at the end of prayers. The message seemed to have been left
at the shrine. Several alcoholic brands are sold at the roadside and the
bars on the way to the shrine are full of people drinking and dancing
to loud music that has nothing to do with the martyrs or religion. Some
are already drunk and passed out along the road.
The pork lovers had a field day because it was aplenty
For pork lovers, they are enjoying to
the maximum; smoked or fried, pork is in plenty. Although the price has
been hiked, pilgrims have no qualms crushing the ribs.
“We came to do business and we supply
what the market demands; if it were not that people wanted to drink, we
wouldn’t be here,” said one of the bar owners.
In his message, Archbishop Bakyenga
challenged Ugandans, especially those in leadership to emulate the
martyrs and link everything to God to save the country from the evil
activities in society.
“At the beginning, we chose to put our
future in God’s hands through our national anthem and the motto, but now
we have a challenge to link to these two. We are going astray and many
evil things are happening,” Archbishop Bakyenga said.
He highlighted that evil behaviour
including corruption and homosexuality could be avoided if the public
emulated the martyrs. Bakyenga lauded the Uganda security forces for
their role in keeping peace in Africa.
“I wish to salute the security forces
for their mission outside this country; it is military missionary work,
let God’s light shine over you wherever you go,” Bakyenga said.
Uganda troops have been on mission in
Somalia, Central African Republic, and South Sudan, among others.
Archbishop Bakyenga thanked the government for declaring June 3 a public
holiday and warned Christians against engaging in adultery, theft and
murder.
Pilgrims who travelled from South Africa
He thanked the media for the coverage
given to church activities but urged media houses to at least get a
religious correspondent to focus on religion.
“A religious beat will help our people
in Uganda to develop their love for God, which helps them denounce all
evil activities and lead them to heaven,” Bakyenga said.
The archbishop asked the Pope’s
representative to Uganda, Archbishop Michael Augustine Blume, to invite
Pope Francis to visit Uganda.
“I would like to thank the pilgrims who trekked here on foot; it is a sign of faith. And I’m so proud of you,” Blume said.
The Vice President, Edward Ssekandi,
called for complimented efforts between the church and politics to
foster development in the country.
“The death of the martyrs is the pillar
of today’s faith, but we should try to see how we can use their examples
for social economic development,” Ssekandi said.
“We need to rebrand Namugongo and other
sites for tourism, both national and international. Let’s develop the
infrastructure to make it profitable for both government and the
Catholic Church,” Ssekandi said.
This year’s celebration led by the
diocese of Mbarara comes as the 127th anniversary since 22 martyrs were
killed on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga, in 1886.