Kiwamirembe Catholic Shrine

Brief History Of Kiwamirembe Catholic Shrine

During the years 1979-1986, our beloved country was marred by wars. Many people lost property and lives too, reaching an extent of saying that, perhaps God had forsaken Uganda. But despite all this, many Ugandan Christians prayed to our Lady Queen of peace to restore peace in our country. Among the many who prayed to Mother Mary very fervently, was a Comboni – Verona missionary, Rev. Father John De Bernard, the then parish of Lweza Catholic Church.

He pledged that if peace was restored in Uganda with safety from bombs; he would certainly erect a shrine and dedicate it to Mother Mary.

Thousands of people gathered at Kiwamirembe

In the property that was looted during the war of 1979, was a box which was found around the railway in Kampala; in it was the statue of Mother Mary.

Fortunately, it was neither taken far nor damaged. It was left open by the looters thinking they had looted a corpse of a white English Lady. The people who found it later, informed the Catholic church at the time, who later collected and took it to Nsambya Procure, waiting for its claimants. As for Fr. John, after the civil war, he fulfilled his pledge by building a shrine on top of Kiwamirembe hill, baptiseing it “Our Lady Queen of peace Shrine”. He then went on the hunt for an appropriate and big enough statue of Mary. However, he was fortunate enough to procure the statue from Nsambya through the then Archbishop Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga (RIP) who granted him permission After years of waiting for the claimants of the statue that didn’t show up.