Each year Catholics from all around Uganda, as well as the entire African continent, make a pilgrimage to the Munyonyo Martyrs' Shrine outside Kampala, Uganda. It's estimated that each year up to 4 million pilgrims from all around Africa come to the shrine to pay homage to the Ugandan Martyrs on June 3, their feast day, making this annual celebration one of the world's largest Christian events.
St. Charles Lwanga is the best known martyr in this group, and his example of faithfulness to Jesus under severe persecution remains an inspiration to all Catholics in Africa, especially in areas where there remains hostility towards Christians.
This year, however, the planned celebration is being postponed due to the recent Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Celebrations postponed
According to VaticanNews, the president of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, made the announcement:
Fellow Ugandans ... After consultations with the national epidemic response task force and religious leaders, we have decided to postpone the Martyrs’ Day to a later date, which will be communicated. This decision was made because Uganda receives thousands of pilgrims annually from Eastern Congo, which is currently experiencing an Ebola outbreak. To safeguard everyone’s lives, it is essential that this important event be postponed.
All pilgrims already in transit are urged to go back home until the Ebola outbreak is contained.
The last Ebola outbreak in Africa was in 2014-2016 and had a high mortality rate, with over 11,000 people dying from the virus.
This current strain of Ebola is similarly deadly, with about 30%-40% of people dying after becoming infected.
It is hoped that with containment measures, such as postponing the Martyr's Day celebrations, the Ebola outbreak can be isolated and prevent transmission to a large number of people.
