By Mathias Mazinga
As lovers flocked secular events to celebrate Valentine’s Day, Christian couples, mainly from the Catholic Church, were also enjoying their version of the highly popular love-tinted day.
The main Catholic Valentine’s Day party took place at Bishop Hanlon Gardens, Nsambya (adjacent St. Peter’s Catholic Church), in Makindye Division. It was organised by Holy Cross Family Ministries, an affiliate organisation of the Catholic Congregation of the Holy Cross, which gives holistic support/empowerment to Christian families.
The party started with mass, led by the director of Holy Cross Family Ministries, Fr. John Baptist Nsubuga, assisted by the parish-priest of Nsambya, Fr. Joseph Ssemmanda and his assistant, Fr. Charles Ntege Lubwama.
Fr. John Baptist Nsubuga (right) challenges a couple in Pakachini dance. Photos by Mathias Mazinga
Fr. John Baptist Nsubuga (left) with Afande Sylvester Atworo and his wife Eunice Atworo, who were chosen as the best-dressed couple
At the close of mass, the couples swung into a fun-filled party. There were abrupt jolts of excitement as the spouses exchanged gifts. Ecstasy also prevailed strongly during the selection of the best-dressed couple by the couples themselves.
Sylvester Atworo, an officer of the Uganda Police (from Nsambya Police Barracks) and his wife, Eunice Tinua Atworo, won best-dressed couple. The couples later shared a late afternoon lunch before breaking into dance.
Fr. Nsubuga defended the Catholic Valentine’s party, explaining that St. Valentine was a Catholic clerical saint, who was passionate about Christian marriage. He said the day belongs to the Catholic Church, although the secular world seems to hold greater possession of it.
An excited spouse breaks into dance during the function
Nsubuga (third-left) cutting cake with some of the couples that graced the Valentine’s party in Nsambya
Couples present offertory to the Catholic priests during the Valentine’s mass at Bishop Hanlon Gardens, Nsambya
Some of the lovebirds praying
