Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baguma, the Parish Priest St. Charles Lwanga City Parish, has encouraged Christians, especially Catholics, to prioritize Ash Wednesday over Valentine’s Day this year.
With Ash Wednesday falling on February 14th, a day typically associated with Valentine’s Day celebrations in Uganda, marked by gift exchanges and festivities, Fr. Baguma stressed the importance of observing the solemnity of Ash Wednesday within the Catholic tradition.
During his homily at Town Parish yesterday, Fr. Baguma reminded the congregation that fasting on Ash Wednesday is a mandatory practice in the Catholic Church, suggesting that Christians could either anticipate Valentine’s Day celebrations or respectfully postpone them as a sign of reverence for Ash Wednesday.
Valentine’s Day, or Saint Valentine’s Day, is celebrated every year on February 14. For many people across the world, it is a special time when people express their affection for another person or people by sending cards, flowers or chocolates with messages of love.
Though the Church still recognizes him as a saint, St. Valentine is believed to have been removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, and Sts. Cyril and Methodius are now celebrated on Feb.14.
Much as little can be confirmed about his life, in death St. Valentine remains the patron saint of lovers as well as beekeepers and epileptics
