Paimol Martyrs Shrine in Agago district is fast-becoming a popular destination for pilgrims.

Although the shrine was opened less than 10 years ago in Northern Uganda, the number of pilgrims visiting it has been growing exponentially each year.

This year alone, an estimated 20,000 people celebrated the Holy Eucharist, among other religious rituals, at the shrine hosted by Gulu Catholic archdiocese, on October 20.

Pilgrims flocked to the shrine to commemorate the martyrdom of Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa, the two youthful catechists who were hounded, threatened and finally speared to death in October 1918 by a group of executioners sent by Rwot Ogal, the then Paimol sub-county chief in Agago district.

The authorities in charge of the Shrine are confident that it is on track to become the second biggest religious destination in East Africa after the Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, the memorial to 45 martyrs killed between January 31, 1885 and January 27, 1887 on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda.

The shrine at Paimol comprises a chapel cushioned in rock tiles, a modern prayer basilica, a tomb and underground changing rooms, among others.

The rector of Paimol Martyrs shrine, Father Joseph Okumu, says the Shrine enjoys a unique position among many faithful due to its serene location in the open-wooded Savannah grassland with soothing mountainous climate.

Okumu says the strong belief the church attaches to Paimol is what compelled it to rename the shrine “Wipolo”, which means “in-heaven” in the native Acholi language.

Incidentally, while being commissioned as catechists to Paimol in 1917 by Father Cesare Gambaretto, the parish priest of Kitgum mission, Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa spoke fondly of going to heaven if killed on a mission to Paimol.

The two were replacing Catechist Antonio who had died the same year. Many pilgrims consider it a place of elation, which presents a rare opportunity for modern- day Christian revival.

A giant concrete cross adjacent to two huge concrete hugging arches faces the direction of the rising sun at the main gate, through which pilgrims enter the shrine.

Okumu says the hugging arches symbolize the two martyrs Okello and Irwa embracing each other. Inside Wipolo Martyrs Shrine, a beehive of activity takes place in perfect order.

Pilgrims head straight to embrace the tombs of Okello and Joldo Irwa in prayer. Those with ill health are helped to enter the tomb with their rosaries tightly clutched.

At the foot of the triangular tomb slanting westwards, pilgrims drop written petitions and prayer requests as well as monetary offertory and seeds of faith.

Countless water jerrycans in various sizes surround the tombs. Pilgrims bring the water inside the tomb to be sanctified, blessed and turned into powerful healing spiritual material.

The many pilgrims queuing to enter the tombs reduce the amount of time one spends inside praying through the intercession of the martyrs.
So, rosaries are passed on to priests manning the tombs to hug the giant cross.

It is with these rosaries that pilgrims pray the most. Pilgrims who are unable to enter the tomb venerate from outside the tomb with their right hands resting on the wall of the tomb.

About two metres away from the tomb, a tiny hole is fast becoming a manhole. It is here that a palm tree once sprouted many years ago.

According to Richard Olum, one of the priests manning the tomb, the palm was destroyed by pilgrims who feasted on it on account that the relics of the martyrs were dumped at this very spot by their executioners.

The leaves of the palm tree, its branches and stem got plucked to nothingness, before Christians went for its roots. Right now, they collect soil from where it used to stand and the demand for the soil is huge.

“The soil is scattered in the gardens before crop seeds are planted. Many people believe that it gives bumper harvests,” Olum said.

Rebecca Arach, a mother of two from Kitgum district, says she collected the soil to relieve her family from the fangs of pains associated with a cesarean delivery. She is not the only one with a prayer request for healing, financial breakthrough and a stable job.

These rituals are happening hand in hand with confession of sins to a number of priests attending to the faithful in long winding queues. The young and the old from all walks of life, schoolboys and schoolgirls, all press forward to find forgiveness.

After a short session of confession, the pilgrims once more bow down in prayer, just a short distance from the confession table in a climax of communion with God.

Later, young people sit at the very spot the martyrs sat 100 years ago to play the game of omweso.

According to guides in Wipolo, the board games were drilled into this rock boulder under an indigenous African Albizia Adianthifolia tree by the martyrs themselves before they were executed.

With major construction set to begin any time soon, Ugandan pilgrims may soon be trekking for weeks to Wipolo Martyrs Shrine.