St. Charles Lwanga Parish celebrates a vibrant calendar of annual and liturgical events that enrich our spiritual life and strengthen community bonds, reflecting our Jesuit heritage and missionary zeal.
- Parish Feast Day – June 3 (St. Charles Lwanga Day): This is our biggest parish celebration of the year. We usually combine it with Parish Family Day/Anniversary. The program generally includes: one grand feast-day Mass (usually mid-morning 9 or 10 AM, combining all Masses) with possible Sacraments administered (sometimes we schedule confirmations or First Communions if the bishop is present), followed by festivities – traditional dances, songs by various groups (CWA, youth, children), a shared meal (every SCC contributes a dish), and games. We honor our patron by reading the story of the Uganda Martyrs in the liturgy and often have a theme for the day like “Faith and Courage”. When possible, we invite the Bishop or a former parish priest to preside. This day also serves to celebrate the founding of our parish (2018), so we might have slideshows of parish history or awards given to outstanding volunteers. It’s truly a day of Thanksgiving, unity, and joy for our whole community.
- Lenten Season:
- Ash Wednesday – Masses with imposition of ashes at morning and evening to start the penitential season. Good attendance as we remind ourselves “we are dust… turn away from sin.”
- Stations of the Cross – every Friday at 5 PM (as above). We also usually have a Parish Lenten Retreat/Recollection. Sometimes we host a guest preacher for a 3-day Lenten mission or, at minimum, a one-day recollection on a Saturday in Lent. In 2024, for example, we had a Saturday retreat from 9 AM–4 PM with talks, personal prayer, and ending with Confessions and Mass. This is open to all parishioners.
- Holy Week – We celebrate the beautiful liturgies of Holy Thursday (Last Supper Mass with washing of feet – often 12 representatives of our community’s diversity), Good Friday (3 PM service often outdoors if crowd large; sometimes a live Way of the Cross enacted by youth through the neighborhood), Holy Saturday Easter Vigil (with baptisms of catechumens – a highlight!). These days are very well-attended; we encourage everyone to take part fully in the Paschal Triduum.
- Easter – On Easter Sunday, after the solemn Masses, we often have a little Easter egg hunt for the small kids or at least sharing of Easter sweets to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection in joy.
- Divine Mercy Sunday: The Sunday after Easter we incorporate the Divine Mercy prayers at 3:00 PM. Many parishioners join the novena starting Good Friday. We sometimes have confessions that afternoon too in honor of the feast’s emphasis on mercy.
- Marian Months: May and October are dedicated to Mary. We hold a Rosary procession on May 13 (Our Lady of Fatima) or in October (Our Lady of the Rosary) where we walk around the parish neighborhood praying and singing, ending at the grotto for benediction. May also sees the crowning of Mary by children at a Sunday Mass (symbolically giving Mary flowers and a crown as Queen of May). These devotions renew our Marian fervor.
- Corpus Christi: Typically, after the main Mass, we have a Eucharistic Procession around the compound or even through the local streets (with permit), carrying the Blessed Sacrament and stopping at four altars prepared by different SCCs for benediction. It’s a powerful witness to our belief in Christ’s presence.
- Mission Sunday (October): As a mission parish, we take Mission Sunday seriously. Children (PMC) might perform a missionary song or skit. We pray especially for the Church’s mission and sometimes invite a missionary religious to speak. A second collection is taken for the Pontifical Mission Societies on that day.
- All Saints / All Souls: On All Saints (Nov 1) we have Mass honoring all saints, sometimes encouraging children to dress as a favorite saint. On All Souls Day (Nov 2), we have an evening Mass where we read out the names of parishioners’ deceased loved ones and light candles for them. We may also visit the cemetery with prayers if feasible.
- Christmas Season:
- Advent is marked with Advent Wreath lighting each Sunday (often done by different groups in Mass) and a parish Advent Recollection (like in Lent, to prepare spiritually).
- We also run a “Jesse Tree” charity drive in Advent – parishioners bring items for needy families, symbolically placing them under a Jesse Tree, to be distributed before Christmas.
- Christmas Eve: We normally have a night Vigil Mass (around 9 or 10 PM) with lots of carols, a dramatization of the Nativity by the youth/children, and then the joy of Christmas is celebrated. Christmas Day Masses follow Sunday schedule and are filled with carols.
- During the 12 days of Christmas, groups like youth and choir go caroling to a few homes especially of the sick or elderly, to bring them cheer.
- Epiphany: We bless chalk and homes for those who want to mark their doors. It’s also the day we often have infant baptisms for babies born during the year—a beautiful way to start the year.
- Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola (July 31): Given our Jesuit heritage, we celebrate the founder of the Jesuits in a special way. On July 31, we usually have an evening Mass (since it’s not a day of obligation, but important to us) with the liturgy of St. Ignatius. The Jesuit fathers share about Ignatian themes. In 2024, for example, all four Jesuits of our community concelebrated a Mass where each shared a short reflection on St. Ignatius, much to the delight and spiritual enrichment of the congregation[4][18]. After Mass, we had a social with snacks (and yes, plenty of Ignatian jokes and camaraderie!)[19][20]. We plan to continue making this a marquee event to educate parishioners about the Ignatian spiritual legacy we partake in.
Other Patron Feasts: Our SCCs and ministries often celebrate their patron saints with special prayers or Mass intentions. For instance, the St. Josephine Bakhita SCC and outstation have a big celebration on Feb 8 (as noted in blog); St. Michael SCC might have an extra prayer service on Sep 29 (Archangels); CWA and CMA observe their national patron saint feast days (St. Monica for CWA on Aug 27, St. Joseph for CMA on Mar 19) with Mass and renewal of promises. These celebrations, while smaller, add richness to parish life and are usually open to all parishioners to join in solidarity with the celebrating group.
These events, announced in the bulletin, unite us in worship and joy, echoing St. Charles Lwanga’s faith. Join us to celebrate and grow as a parish family for God’s greater glory.