A massive congregation of over 1 million people—the Fides news service estimated the crowd at 4 million—participated in the June 3 celebration of the feast of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions at their shrine in Namugongo, Uganda.
The shrine, located outside the capital city of Kampala, is built on the site where the Ugandan martyrs were killed, between 1885 and 1887, for having refused to participate in homosexual activities with King Mwanga II. The martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964.
Archbishop Raphael Wokorach of Gulu celebrated the Mass for the feast day, with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in attendance. Along with Ugandans, the congregation included pilgrims from many nearby African countries and elsewhere around the world.