From our Sister Eliane Nzoyisaba, in Bunamwaya, Uganda
The celebration took place at Lubaga Cathedral on Thursday 31 October 2024. We were very happy to be with all our sisters who came from Adjumani to celebrate with us. We prepared this celebration in collaboration with the Missionaries of Africa. The day before we had an exhibition (Missionaries of Africa and us Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa) at Lubaga Cathedral. It was interesting to see people coming to ask what event we were having and also to ask about our congregations. The main celebrant was Mgr Lawrence Ssemusu.
We had three very important events:
– The opening of the bicentenary of the birth of Cardinal Lavigerie.
– The celebration of the 125th anniversary of our arrival in Uganda.
– The closing of a historical exhibition on the 60th anniversary of the canonisation of the Uganda Martyrs by the Uganda Martyrs University.
At 12.30pm we started the procession with the relics of the Uganda Martyrs from Uganda Martyrs University-Nkozi to Lubaga Cathedral.
During the homily, Monsignor Ssemusu explained how happy he was to celebrate this Mass. He also spoke about the meaning of the birthday, saying that the birthday is a time to thank God, a time to express gratitude to God, a time to celebrate life and a time to renew our life of prayer and mission. The first reading of the day was Ephesians 6:10-20: “To be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. To put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”. He invited us to be peacemakers and peace-loving in our communities, in our apostolate and in our relationships. As sons and daughters of Lavigerie, we were also invited to be missionaries of prayer, because nothing can replace prayer, especially prayer in spirit and simplicity, because Cardinal Lavigerie, our founder, was also a man of prayer.
After the thanksgiving and before the final blessing, we had various speeches, starting with a representative from Nkozi University about the closing of the exhibition, followed by Sister Revocate Kabahuma, MSOLA, who spoke about the 125th anniversary of our arrival in Uganda, she talked about the different places we have been and where we are now. She concluded by saying that we want to use this year as a time of reflection, looking back, at the present, at the future and looking forward to celebrating this anniversary next year in thanksgiving to the Lord our God. Her speech was followed by the opening of 125 years in Uganda by the main celebrant and the blowing of the horn. All of us (MSOLA) went to the front for this special launch. After that, the representative of the Missionaries of Africa, Vincent Lubega, spoke. He explained the theme of the bicentenary: “For a passionate and renewed commitment to the African people”, followed by the inauguration of the bicentenary of Cardinal Lavigerie’s birthday by the main celebrant and also the blowing of the horn.
Then we sang the Sancta Maria together.
It was a beautiful celebration and after Mass I was touched by a woman who came with tears of joy saying that she had seen us but she didn’t know that we have been in Uganda for 125 years. She said, “Sisters, you are our mothers, we have to respect you in this country…”. After Mass we went back with joy and gratitude.
