The joy of Christmas at Pagirinya refugee settlement

This Christmas, our sisters’ community in Uganda had the pleasure of hosting Sr. Barbara, our Regional Superior, and the Scalabrini Fathers to celebrate together with the refugee communities in Pagirinya Settlement.

On December 24th, the youth, the women's group and the children gathered at St. Mary Magdalene to clean and prepare the chapel for the vigil.

Members of the women group plastering the wall of St. Mary Magdalene chapel to prepare for Christmas celebration

Father Armando Gomez Gama (Scalabrini) celebrated the Holy Mass. The Eucharistic celebration was animated by the youth who sang and prayed with great intensity. However, what most caught the attention of the community was the silence of the children, which had a special meaning for all of us: “The Child God manifests himself in the fragility of a child, on a silent night”.

Fr. Armando celebrating mass at Pagirinya settlement

We celebrated Christmas Day at St. Josephine Bakita chapel. We experienced the joy, the participation of the community, the commitment to the songs, the liturgy of the Word, the preparation and decoration of the chapel, the children dancing and animating the celebration, everything was very simple. However, it was a moment for us to contemplate the Child Jesus who manifested himself to the world in the simplicity of the cave of Belem.

Community attending the Christmas celebration in Pagirinya refugee settlement

For us, celebrating the Birth of Jesus with the refugees at Pagirinya Settlement is about experiencing the joy of the Gospel, especially when we see the sparkle in the eyes of our brothers and sisters. This experience helps us to realize that God Emmanuel walks with his people, pilgrims of hope.