The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and 23
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
converts to Christianity in the
historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
They were killed on orders of
Mwanga II
Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa (1868 – 8 May 1903)D. A. Low''Fabrication of Empire: The British and the Uganda Kingdoms, 1890-1902'' Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 210, note 196. was Kabaka of Buganda from 1884 until 1888 and fro ...
, the ''
Kabaka
the kabaka Palace in kireka
Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and ...
'' (King) of
Buganda
Buganda is a Bantu peoples, Bantu kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Baganda, Baganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day East Africa, consisting of Buganda's Districts of Uganda, Central Region, inclu ...
. The deaths took place at a time when there was a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court. The episode also occurred against the backdrop of the "
Scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
" – the invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers.
A few years after, the English
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
used the deaths to enlist wider public support for the British acquisition of Uganda for the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
.
The Catholic Church
beatified
Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...
the 22 Catholic martyrs of its faith in 1920 and
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
them in 1964.
Context
![Namugongo 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Namugongo_06.jpg)
Publication in Britain of an 1875 letter purporting to be an invitation from the king of Buganda,
Muteesa I Muteesa (variably spelled Mutesa or Mutessa) may refer to:
* Muteesa I of Buganda, the 30th Kabaka of Buganda who reigned between 1856 and 1884.
* Muteesa II of Buganda, the 36th Kabaka of Buganda who reigned between 1939 and 1969. He also wa ...
, to send missionaries, resulted in the arrival of
Alexander Mackay
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
of the Anglican
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
to Buganda in 1877. A group of French Catholic
White Fathers
The White Fathers (french: Pères Blancs), officially the Missionaries of Africa ( la, Missionarii Africae) abbreviated MAfr), are a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right (for Men) Founded in 1868 by then Ar ...
, led by Père Simon Lourdel (Fr. Mapera) appeared two years later. Arab traders from
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
had introduced
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
into the kingdom. This effectively led to a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court.
By the mid-1880s, many had been converted by each of the three groups, and some of the converts held important posts at the king's court.
Muteesa himself sympathized with Islam, but many prominent chiefs had become Christians.
Kabaka Mwanga II succeeded to the throne in 1884. He was concerned at the growing influence of Christianity and the rise of a new class of officials, distinct from the traditional territorial chiefs, who were educated, had a religious orientation, and wished to reform Ganda society.
[Lipshutz and Rasmussen (1986), ''Dictionary of African Historical Biography'', 1986, p. 165.] The
German annexation of what is now
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
sparked further alarm. A year after becoming king he ordered the execution of Yusufu Rugarama, Makko Kakumba, and Nuwa/Noah Serwanga, who had converted to Christianity.
Encouraged by his prime minister, on 29 October 1885 he had the incoming Anglican bishop
James Hannington
James Hannington (3 September 1847 – 29 October 1885) was an English Anglican missionary and martyr. He was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa.
Early life
Hannington was born on 3 September 1847 at Hurstpierpoint in Sussex, England, ...
assassinated on the eastern border of his kingdom. This may have been deliberately intended to send a message to the British that he did not wish for them to make inroads in Uganda.It is also alleged that the murder of Bishop James Hannington was due to a myth at the time that enemies that would destroy the Kingdom would come from the East. The direction which the Bishop was coming from. Thus the Kabaka had chief Luba of Busoga Chiefdom in the East execute the Bishop.
[Kevin Ward]
"A History of Christianity in Uganda"
in ''Dictionary of African Christian Biography''. Mwanga did, however, subsequently appoint several Christians to important military positions.
Executions in 1885–86
![African Martyrdom](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/African_Martyrdom.jpg)
In 1886 Mwanga ordered the executions of a number of his pages for refusing to yield to his sexual demands, which he saw as insubordination. Heike Behrend says they were both Christian and Muslim converts; other sources speak only of Anglican and Catholic victims, and mention the killing of Muslims as having occurred ten years earlier at the hands of Mwanga's father Muteesa. Joseph Mukasa, a convert to Christianity who had deplored the assassination of Hannington, and had tried to protect the court pages, was the first to be executed on 15 November 1885: this was at the instigation of the
Katikkiro
Katikkiro is the official title of the prime minister of the Kingdom of Buganda, a traditional kingdom in modern-day Uganda. The current Katikkiro is Charles Peter Mayiga, of the mutima clan, who was appointed to that position by the current monar ...
(prime minister) Mukasa, whose successor Joseph Mukasa was tipped to become king.
Then, between 25 May and 3 June 1886, a wider series of executions were carried out.
Mwanga instructed the killing of all the young men who disobeyed him – partly to satisfy the demands of the older chiefs. Twenty-two of the men, who had converted to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, were burned alive at
Namugongo
Namugongo is a township in the Central Region of Uganda.
Location
Namugongo is in Kyaliwajjala Ward, in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, approximately north-east of Uganda's capital Kampala. The township is bordered by Nsasa to the north, ...
in 1886.
"The reasons behind the persecution are still heavily debated", Behrend states.
[Heike Behrend, ''Resurrecting Cannibals: The Catholic Church, With Hunts, and the production of pagans in Western Uganda'', Rochester, 2011.] Political factors certainly played a part. Those killed included minor chiefs, some of whom, such as
Joseph Mukasa
Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe (1860 – 15 November 1885) was a Ugandan Catholic martyr and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
The Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa came to Uganda in ...
, were "the victims of particular grudges by their seniors ... jealous that these up and coming young men would soon be ousting them from power".
Ward has argued that the motivation was the perception that "these Christians were rebels against the Kabaka, unwitting tools of foreign imperialism".
A witness to the event, the French missionary priest Lourdel, considered that the principal cause was Mwanga's feeling of being despised by the literate Christians who claimed a superior knowledge of religion. Lourdel gave as a secondary cause of Mwanga's action the refusal of the pages to meet traditional royal demands of sexual submission. The king, who by tradition had the power of life and death over his subjects, was angered by this refusal to obey his wishes to have sex with him.
Marie de Kiewet-Hemphill concludes that the immediate pretext, if not the whole cause, was therefore the refusal of the pages to offer themselves to Mwanga Roland Oliver rejects resentment against Christianity as a sufficient reason, since it does not explain why Mwanga took action against these young men and not against prominent chiefs and women among the converts. Sylvia Antonia Nannyonga-Tamusuza draws attention to the same point.
J. P. Thoonen in his book on the question agrees with Kiewet-Hemphill's analysis, while recognizing the existence of other political factors. Particularly as some of those that renounced their faith were spared death."
[Hoad (2007), p. 4.]
In the week leading to the executions, the Christian Matthias Gayinga rejected the sexual demands of Mwanga's close friend, the Muslim Lutaya, to whom the king had sent him for that purpose. For this he was severely punished, though not killed. His stance was described as a "splendid refusal" by the English missionary A. P. Ashe, who later said it set the spark for later events. His action was followed by the refusal of another convert, Anatole Kirrigwajjo, to accept nomination to a high post "which he could only exercise at the peril of his soul".
While many of the Christian pages often arranged to be missing when Mwanga demanded them, or refused his sexual solicitation outright, one page Muwafi did comply. Mwanga is said to have caught another page teaching Christianity to Muwafi. Mwanga saw this as an attempt "to rob him of his favourite and so far always compliant toy, by teaching him the religion which made them prefer death to submission".
[Sylvia Antonia Nannyonga-Tamusuza]
''Bsaakisimba''
Routledge, 2014 (), pp. 212–213. Mwanga summoned the pages and asked those who prayed to stand to one side. These, most of whom were between 15 and 30 years old, were then taken on a long journey to execution by being burnt alive. By displaying the courage their Christianity demanded, they helped remove any notion that the new religion was inconsistent with traditional ideals of heroism.
Political aftermath
The converts, at least the Catholics, had been taught they risked martyrdom.
[John Iliffe]
''Honour in African History''
Cambridge University Press, 2005 (), pp. 172–173. The secular press of the time described them as martyrs.
The same description appeared also, of course, in religious publications, both Protestant, such as the journal of the missionary Mackay published in the ''Intellegencer'' of 1886, and Catholic, such as the accounts of the missionaries Lourdel, Denoit, and Delmas published in ''Enquête relative au martyre des chrétiens: Ste Marie de Rubaga, Buganda 1888'' and ''Les Missions Catholiques'' 18 (1886).
News of Mwanga's actions provoked contradictory reactions in Britain. Some saw it as a sign of the futility of missionary efforts in Buganda, others as a call to renewed efforts. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' of 30 October 1886, quoting the dictum, "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church", stated: "On the success of the Uganda experiment, with its alternation of favourable and adverse circumstances, depends the happiness of the interior of the vast continent for generations."
[Assa Okoth]
''A History of Africa''
East African Publishers, 2006 (), p. 86. This sentiment developed into a campaign for British intervention in the region.
In September 1888, Mwanga planned to get rid of remaining Christian and Muslim leaders by leaving them to starve on an island in crocodile-infested Lake Victoria. Word of his plan leaked out and a rebellion by Christians and Muslims together brought Mwanga's brother
Kiweewa to the throne. In October 1888, the Muslims seized power, expelled the Christian leaders and, when Kiweewa refused to be circumcised, deposed and killed him, replacing him with another brother,
Kalema
Kalema is a settlement in Kenya's Rift Valley Province.
References
Populated places in Kajiado County
{{RiftValleyKE-geo-stub ...
. In December 1888, Mwanga won support from Christians and in April 1889 advanced against the Buganda capital. He was defeated, but the Christian forces, led by the Protestant chief Apollo Kaggwa, retook the capital, enabling Mwanga to enter it triumphantly on 11 October 1889. The Muslims took refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of
Bunyoro
Bunyoro or Bunyoro-Kitara is a Bantu kingdom in Western Uganda. It was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Central and East Africa from the 13th century to the 19th century. It is ruled by the King (''Omukama'') of Bunyoro-Kitara. The current ...
, which helped them to return victoriously in November 1889, but they suffered a decisive defeat in February 1890 and withdrew again to Bunyoro.
[Zoë Marsh, G. W. Kingsnorth, ''An Introduction to the History of East Africa'', Cambridge University Press, 1957, pp. 131–133.][Kenneth Ingham, ''A History of East Africa'', Longmans, Green. London, 1963, pp. 145–146 .]
In 1888, Britain authorized the
Imperial British East Africa Company
The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) was a commercial association founded to develop African trade in the areas controlled by the British Empire. The company was incorporated in London on 18 April 1888 and granted a royal charter by Q ...
to administer the East African territory assigned to Britain in its 1886 treaty with Germany. In November 1889, Mwanga asked the company's agent Frederick Jackson for help. Jackson hesitated to accept the request, because he had been given orders not to enter Buganda. Carl Peters, an agent of the corresponding German company, learning of Mwanga's appeal, decided to respond to it. He arrived at
Mengo, Mwanga's new capital, a fortnight after the February 1890 defeat of the Muslims. Since these still presented a threat, Mwanga accepted his offer of a treaty. Jackson then arrived and offered a treaty, which Mwanga rejected, since even the English missionaries considered its terms too onerous.
The agreement that Peters made with Mwanga was nullified by the
1 July 1890 treaty between Britain and Germany, which extended inland the line of division between their areas of influence in East Africa, leaving Buganda in the British sphere and moving the centre of interest from the coast to the hinterland.
The Imperial British East Africa Company sent
Frederick Lugard
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, 1st Baron Lugard (22 January 1858 – 11 April 1945), known as Sir Frederick Lugard between 1901 and 1928, was a British soldier, mercenary, explorer of Africa and colonial administrator. He was Governor of Hong ...
, its military administrator, to Mengo, where in December 1890 he got Mwanga to accept for a period of two years an agreement with the company. This agreement was advantageous for Mwanga when the Muslims in Bunyoro made another attempt to recover power. Friction between the Catholic and the Protestant parties led to fighting in January 1892 in Mengo. Lugard supported the Protestants against the stronger Catholic side in the fighting, forcing Mwanga and the Catholics to flee. Lugard managed to persuade Mwanga to return from German territory, where he had taken refuge, to Mengo on 30 March 1892 and to make a new treaty. This treaty assigned separate areas to Protestants (the largest area), Catholics, and (only a small area) Muslims; Mwanga himself nominally became a Protestant.
With the aid of the Church Missionary Society, which used the deaths of their martyrs to win broad public support in Britain for acquiring Uganda, Lugard then successfully dissuaded Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and his cabinet from abandoning Uganda.
The powers of the company were transferred to the British Crown on 1 April 1893 and on 27 August 1894 Mwanga accepted Buganda being made a British protectorate. However, on 6 July 1897 he declared war on the British. Defeated on 20 July in
Buddu
Buddu is a county (Ssaza) of the kingdom of Buganda in what is now Uganda.
Location
Buddu lies on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria in the Central Region of Uganda.
Buddu is divided from the rest of the kingdom of Buganda by the wide and swamp ...
(in today's
Masaka District
Masaka District is a district in Buganda Kingdom in Uganda. Its main town is Masaka City, whose estimated population in 2011 was 74,100.
Location
The district is bordered by Bukomansimbi District to the north-west, Kalungu District to the north, ...
), an area assigned to Catholics in the 1892 treaty, he again fled to
German East Africa
German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...
. He was declared
deposed
Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Med ...
on 9 August. After a failed attempt to recover his kingdom, he was
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
d in 1899 to the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
, where he was received into the
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. He died in 1903, aged 35.
Catholic Church veneration
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/St._Andrew_Kaggwa_tomb.jpg)
Following the deaths, the Roman Catholic Church used the episode to make the victims the focus of a "cult of martyrs".
In 1897 Archbishop
Henri Streicher
Henri Streicher (29 July 1863 – 7 June 1952) was a Roman Catholic missionary bishop who served as Vicar Apostolic of Uganda from 1897 to 1933.
Early years
Henri Streicher was born on 29 July 1863 in Wasselonne, France.
On 23 September 1887 he ...
founded in Uganda the Uganda Martyrs Guild to participate in evangelization. Some chapters of the Guild became politicized in the 1950s. Under the influence of the
Charismatic Movement
The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of spirit ...
, it later developed into an important anti-witchcraft movement in Tooro.
The honour paid to the Uganda martyrs elsewhere in Africa serves to Africanize Catholicism, as for instance in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, where a church built in 1890 contains their relics and where there are several churches dedicated to Kizito, the youngest of their number.
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...
beatified Charles Lwanga, Matiya Mulumba, and their twenty companions on 6 June 1920, and
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
them on 18 October 1964. In the ceremony of canonization of the Catholic martyrs, Pope Paul mentioned also the Anglicans, saying: "Nor, indeed, do we wish to forget the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, confronted death in the name of Christ." The Papal Mass canonizing them is notable as the last time such was celebrated in the Tridentine form at St. Peter's Basilica. A 3 June
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
of Charles Lwanga and the twelve others who died on 3 June 1886 is included in the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar is the liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgical rite is in use. These celebra ...
, while the nine remaining martyrs are commemorated in the ''
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...
'' on their respective dates of death. A set of postage stamps was issued in the following year by
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
for commemorating the canonization.
The
Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs at Namugongo was built in 1968. Since the 1980s it has become the venue of massive pilgrimages, and plans for large-scale expansion were announced in 2014.
Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno
Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno is a 20th-century parochial church and titular church in Rome, dedicated to the Uganda Martyrs.
History
The church was built in 1973–1980. Its roof is curved like a Ugandan hut.
On 28 June 1988, it w ...
, a church in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs, was dedicated in 1980 and became a
titular church
In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...
in 1988.
In 1993, the
Uganda Episcopal Conference
The Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) or Episcopal Conference of Uganda is the local conference of Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda, established in 1960.
The UEC acts primarily through the Uganda Catholic Secretariat in an effort to promote and ...
established a
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
named after the Uganda Martyrs, which received its civil charter in 2005.
In 2014, Uganda celebrated 50 years since the Uganda Martyrs were canonized and elevated to sainthood by Pope Paul VI on 18 October 1964. The
Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine
The Munyonyo Martyrs’ Shrine is a Roman Catholic shrine and Minor Basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs.
Location
The church is located at Munyonyo, Kampala, in Central Uganda. Munyonyo is located approximately , by road, south of the ...
is a thanksgiving monument for their canonization. Official groundbreaking was on 3 May 2015 by the Papal Nuncio to Uganda, Archbishop
Michael A. Blume, and Cardinal
Emmanuel Wamala
Emmanuel Wamala (born 15 December 1926) is a Ugandan cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and former Archbishop of Kampala from 1990 to 2006. He is currently serving as the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Ugo, appointed in 1994.
Priesthood
Wamala w ...
. Re-development includes construction of a new church shrine, museum, offices, and martyrdom spots of the saints.
List of the Catholic martyrs
#
Achilleus Kewanuka
Achilleus Kiwanuka, also known as Achileo Kiwanuka or Achilles Kiwanuka (1869 – June 3, 1886), was a Ugandan Catholic martyr revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Life
Kiwanuka was born at Lulagala in Ssingo County and was a member of the ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Adolphus Ludigo-Mukasa
Adolphus Ludigo-Mkasa, also known as Adolofu Mukasa Ludigo (c. 1861 – June 3, 1886), was a Ugandan Catholic martyr killed for his faith.
Life
Ludigo-Mkasa was a Munyoro from Mwenge in the western part of the country. At a young age, he w ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Ambrosius Kibuuka
Ambrosio Kibuuka (1868 – June 3, 1886) aka (Ambrose Kibuuka Katekamu, Kateka Mulundaggana), was a Ugandan Catholic martyr killed for his faith. He was born in Buganda. He was one of many Christians put to death by King Mwanga II between 1885 an ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
# Anatoli Kiriggwajjo (d. 3 June 1886)
#
Andrew Kaggwa
Andrew Kaggwa (or Andrea Kaahwa) (1856 – May 26, 1886) was a Ugandan Catholic martyr killed for his faith. He was one of many Christians put to death by King Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887. He was the king Mwanga's bandmaster-General, the Mug ...
(d. 26 May 1886)
#
Antanansio Bazzekuketta (d. 27 May 1886)
#
Bruno Sserunkuuma
Bruno may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname
* Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880)
* Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Charles Lwanga
Charles Lwanga (Luganda: Kaloli Lwanga; 1 January 18603 June 1886) was a Ugandan convert to the Catholic Church who was martyred with a group of his peers and is revered as a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
A memb ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Denis Ssebuggwawo Wasswa
Denis Ssebuggwawo (1870-25 May 1886) is a Ugandan Catholic martyr and saint. He was born at Kigoloba in Bulemeezi County. His father was Kajansi and mother was Nsonga of Musoga. Shortly after his birth, his grandfather was put to death and his f ...
(d. 25 May 1886)
#
Gonzaga Gonza (d. 27 May 1886)
#
Gyavira Musoke (d. 3 June 1886)
#
James Buuzaabalyaawo (d. 3 June 1886)
#
John Maria Muzeeyi
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
(d. 27 January 1887)
#
Joseph Mukasa
Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe (1860 – 15 November 1885) was a Ugandan Catholic martyr and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
The Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa came to Uganda in ...
(d. 15 November 1885)
#
Kizito
Saint Kizito (1872 – June 3, 1886) was one of the Martyrs of Uganda and the youngest martyr slain by the King Mwanga II of Buganda. He was baptized on 25/26 May 1886, by Charles Lwanga, the leader of Uganda's Christian community at the time, at ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Lukka Baanabakintu (d. 3 June 1886)
#
Matiya Mulumba
Matiya Mulumba, also known as Matthias Murumba Kalemba (1836 - May 30, 1886), was a Ugandan Roman Catholic, one of the Martyrs of Uganda
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical ...
(d. 30 May 1886)
#
Mbaga Tuzinde (d. 3 June 1886)
#
Mugagga Lubowa (d. 3 June 1886)
#
Mukasa Kiriwawanvu Mukasa is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolphus Ludigo-Mukasa (1861–1886), Ugandan Roman Catholic martyred for his faith
* Mukasa Mbidde (born 1973), Ugandan lawyer, human-rights activist, politician
*Ashe Mukasa (born 195 ...
(d. 3 June 1886)
#
Nowa Mawaggali (d. 31 May 1886)
#
Ponsiano Ngondwe (d. 26 May 1886)
Two martyrs of Paimol
There were also two Ugandan martyrs of a later period, who died at Paimol in 1918 and were beatified in 2002. These have not yet been canonized.
The martyrs Daudi Okelo and Jildo Irwa were two young
catechist
Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the ...
s from Uganda. They belonged to the
Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the large
Luo Luo may refer to:
Luo peoples and languages
*Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa
**Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania.
*** Luoland, th ...
group. They lived and were martyred in the years immediately following the founding of the mission of Kitgum by the
Comboni Missionaries in 1915.
Anglicanism
The Martyrs of Uganda are
remembered
Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a
commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy), insertion in one liturgy of portions of another
*Memorialization
*"Commemoration", a song by the 3rd a ...
on 3 June, when commemorating the martyrs of Uganda, the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
includes Archbishop
Janani Luwum
Janani Jakaliya Luwum (c. 1922 – 17 February 1977) was the archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was arrested in February 1977 and died shortly after. A ...
, who was murdered in 1977 by
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...
's henchmen; they also commemorate Luwum separately on 16 February.
List of the Anglican Protestant martyrs
# Makko Kakumba
# Yusuf Lugalama
# Nuwa Sserwanga
# Mukasa Musa
# Eriya Mbwa
# Muddu Aguma
# Daudi Muwanga
# Muwanga
# Kayizzi Kibuuka
# Mayanja Kitogo
# Noah Walukaga
# Alexander Kdoko
# Fredrick Kizza
# Robert Munyangabyanjo
# Daniel Nakabandwa
# Kiwanuka Gyaza
# Mukasa Lwakisiga
# Lwanga
# Mubi
# Wasswa
# Kwabafu
# Kifamunnyanja
# Muwanga Njigiya
In popular culture
The Ugandan Martyrs were featured in one episode of the film ''
Millions''. In the DVD of the film it is mentioned that one of the actors who played the martyrs claimed to be a descendant of one of the martyrs.
"Millions (2004): Trivia"
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
.
References
External links
The Christian Martyrs of Uganda
Encyclopædia Britannica Online
Uganda Martyrs' Shrine, Namugongo
Uganda Martyrs' Shrine, Munyonyo
The Uganda Martyrs from the August 2008 issue of ''The Word Among Us'' magazine
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1860s births
1880s deaths
1918 deaths
European colonisation in Africa
19th-century Christian martyrs
19th-century Christian saints
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Roman Catholic child saints
Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions
Executed children
Executed Ugandan people
1885 murders in Africa
1886 murders in Africa
1887 murders in Africa
History of Uganda
LGBT and Christianity
Martyred groups
Massacres of men
People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
Lists of Christian martyrs
People executed by Buganda
Groups of Roman Catholic saints
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