Participants of the international conference of the Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life (Misal) gather for a commemorative photograph in Kampala, Uganda. (Photo: AdExtra)
UCA News
Representatives from 20 Catholic missionary societies, including those from Asia, have gathered in Uganda to reflect on how martyrdom shapes mission today.
The Missionary Societies of Apostolic Life (Misal)’s ongoing biannual meeting from April 13 to 17 is themed “From the Blood of the Martyrs to Today’s Mission.”
Representatives from missionary societies in South Korea, India, the Philippines, and Thailand are attending the international event organized this year by the Missionaries of Africa at their mother house in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
The five-day event includes discussions and pilgrimages to historical sites of Christian martyrdom. On April 14, the participants will attend lectures on the historical context of evangelization in Uganda, the legacy of the martyrs, and pilgrimage to holy sites in the country.
The participants were slated to attend a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the 22 martyrs of Lubaga on April 15. The Lubaga Cathedral, or St. Mary’s Cathedral in Kampala, Uganda, is a significant center of Catholic faith that honors these martyrs executed by King Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887.
The participants will also visit St. John the Baptist Mapeera-Nabulagala Church, located in Lusaze Lubya, Kampala, which is a historic site established in 1879 by the Missionaries of Africa, popularly known as the White Fathers.
It is recognized as the site of the first Catholic mission in Uganda, where missionaries celebrated Holy Mass for the first time on June 25, 1879. The participants will also visit the royal tombs of Kasubi and the Basilica of Uganda Martyrs in Namugongo, where a Holy Mass will take place.
The Namugongo minor basilica is a pilgrimage destination located 15 km northeast of Kampala, built at the site where St. Charles Lwanga and 13 other Catholic martyrs were burnt alive on June 3, 1886, by King Mwanga II for refusing to renounce their faith.
On April 16, the delegates will engage in discussions in continental groups, Mass, and participate in a closing ceremony. Salesian priest Anton Paul Padinjarathala of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization is slated to attend the closing ceremony as a special guest.
The 36 representatives include missionaries from Australia, Canada, Colombia, the Ivory Coast, Spain, the US, France, Haiti, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia, Switzerland, and Zambia.
The participating societies include the Korean Missionary Society (KMS), which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. Founded in 1975, the KMS has sent 85 Korean missionaries to nine countries, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, throughout its history.
The South Korean Church considers the KMS as a symbol of its missionary commitment to the world. The other missionary societies include the Spanish Institute of the Missions, the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the Missionaries of Bethlehem, the Missionaries of Guadalupe, the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, among others. The Paris Foreign Missions Society’s Vicar General, Father Etienne Frécon, and Superior General, Father Vincent Sénéchal, are also attending the event.
