Only One Holy Mass to Be Celebrated in Kasana-Luweero Diocese on Sunday, December 28, 2025 for Holy Jubilee Year Closure

By Bernard Bakalu

Luweero

The Rt. Rev. Lawrence Mukasa, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kasana-Luweero, has directed that on Sunday, December 28, 2025, there will be only one Holy Mass celebrated across the entire Diocese.

The Mass will take place at Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of Peace Cathedral, Kasana, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The Cathedral is in Kasana, Luwero Town Council, Luwero District.

Ordinarily, several Holy Masses are celebrated on Sundays at the Cathedral and across the Diocese’s 32 parishes, which span the civic districts of Luwero, Nakaseke, and Nakasongola.

At Kasana Cathedral alone, two Masses are normally held—one at 7:00 a.m. and another at 10:00 a.m., a practice similarly observed in parish churches.

However, according to a circular titled “Solemn Closure of the Holy Year”, dated November 19, 2025, and signed by the Kasana-Luweero Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator, Rev. Fr. Dr. Cyril Kasigwa Sande, all Masses in parish churches will be suspended on that day.

The letter, addressed to the clergy, religious men and women, and all the People of God, indicates that Sunday, December 28, 2025, which is the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will mark the solemn closure of the Holy Jubilee Year 2025 and all related Jubilee celebrations in the Diocese.

Fr. Kasigwa explains that no Holy Mass will be celebrated in any other church on that day and that all the faithful are invited to converge at Kasana Cathedral for the Diocesan celebration.

 He further notes that the Mass will begin at 10:00 a.m., urging the faithful to arrive early for confessions and personal prayer ahead of the opening procession.

The communication was also extended to Parish Executive Secretaries, who were instructed to ensure that the announcement is formally communicated to the faithful during parish Masses, in line with the Bishop’s directive.

This is not the first time the Diocese has suspended parish Masses in favor of a single diocesan celebration.

On Sunday, December 29, 2024, all Holy Masses across Kasana-Luweero Diocese were similarly suspended to allow for a single diocesan Mass in anticipation of the launch of the Jubilee Year.

On that occasion, parishes including Mulajje, Katikamu, Nakasongola, and Nakaseke, among others, were affected.

The sole Mass was celebrated at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of Peace Cathedral, presided over by Bishop Lawrence Mukasa, with all priests, religious, and lay faithful instructed to attend.

The 2025 Jubilee Year was formally inaugurated by Pope Francis on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024, with the symbolic opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Jubilee Year runs until January 6, 2026.

Traditionally known as a Holy Year, the Jubilee is a special time in the life of the Catholic Church, emphasizing forgiveness, reconciliation, conversion, and spiritual renewal, and calling the faithful to restore right relationships with God, one another, and all of creation.

The 2025 Jubilee Year is being observed under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” highlighting the Church’s call to foster hope amid global challenges such as war, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis.

Celebrated every 25 years since 1470, the Jubilee interval was reduced from 50 years by Pope Paul II. The last Ordinary Jubilee was held in 2000, while an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy was celebrated in 2015.

The current Jubilee also holds special significance as it commemorates the 2,025th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.

In Uganda, Bishop Joseph Anthony Zziwa, Chairperson of the Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) and Bishop of Kiyinda-Mityana, directed each diocese to prepare a Jubilee pastoral program for the faithful.

He further announced that local bishops would replicate the Holy Door ceremony on December 29, 2024, to inaugurate Jubilee celebrations nationwide.

In Kasana-Luweero Diocese, Bishop Mukasa marked the opening of the Jubilee Year by ceremonially opening the main entrance of Kasana Cathedral on Sunday, December 29, 2024, while all other doors remained closed.

The faithful processed into the Cathedral holding lit candles, symbolizing their pilgrimage of faith, as priests were stationed at designated points to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Throughout the Jubilee Year, parishes and diocesan institutions have undertaken organized pilgrimages to Kasana, during which they celebrated the Eucharist and offered material and financial support toward the Bishop’s pastoral campaign for the establishment and development of parishes.

A major highlight of the Jubilee celebrations was a special diocesan pilgrimage to Rome, Italy, in July, during which 241 pilgrims represented the Diocese.

As the Jubilee Year draws to a close, the Diocese now prepares to gather as one family of faith at Kasana Cathedral for this historic and solemn celebration.

 A copy of the flyer circulating on social media announcing that only one Holy Mass will be celebrated in the Diocese on Sunday, December 28, 2025.

A copy of the letter announcing the suspension of all Masses, leaving only one Holy Mass to be celebrated in Kasana-Luweero Diocese on Sunday, December 28, 2025.