The Catholic Church in
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 ...
is part of the worldwide
Catholic Church
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 ...
, under the spiritual leadership of the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
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 ...
. There are an estimated 34.1 million Catholics in the country, comprising around 39.3% of the total population in 2014.
The Catholic Church celebrates on June 3 the feast of the
Uganda Martyrs
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
They were killed on orders of Mwang ...
— Saint
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 ...
and his companions — who were killed by King
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 ...
between 1885 and 1887.
Dioceses of Uganda
*
Gulu
Gulu is a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the commercial and administrative centre of Gulu District.
The coordinates of the city of Gulu are 2°46'54.0"N 32°17'57.0"E. The distance from Gulu to Kampala, Uganda's capital and large ...
**
Arua
Arua is a city and commercial centre within the Arua District in the Northern Region of Uganda.
Location
Arua is approximately , by road, north-west of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda, Arua is about , by road, west of Gulu, the ...
**
Lira
Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
**
Nebbi
Nebbi is a town in the Nebbi District of the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the site of the district headquarters.
Location
Nebbi is located in the West Nile sub-region, along the Karuma–Olwiyo–Pakwach–Nebbi–Arua Road, approximately , ...
*
Kampala
Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...
**
Kasana–Luweero
**
Kiyinda–Mityana
**
Lugazi
Lugazi is a town in the Buikwe District of the Central Region of Uganda. The town is also called "Kawolo", and the two names are interchangeably used by the local inhabitants.
Location
The town is on the Kampala-Jinja Highway, approximately ...
**
Masaka
Masaka is a city in the Buganda Region of Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District.
Location
Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The city is close to the Equator ...
*
Mbarara
Mbarara City is a city in the Western Region of Uganda and the second largest city in Uganda after Kampala. The city is divided into 6 boroughs of Kakoba Division, Kamukuzi Division, Nyamitanga Division, Biharwe Division, Kakiika Division, Nyakay ...
**
Fort Portal
Fort Portal or Kabarole is a city located in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Toro Kingdom.
Location
Fort Portal in Kabarole District is located approximately by road, west of Kampal ...
**
Hoima
Hoima is a city in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Hoima District. It is also the location of the palace of the Omukama of Bunyoro.
Location
Hoima is approximately , by road, nort ...
**
Kabale
Kabale is a town in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the chief town of Kabale District, and the district headquarters are located there.
Sometimes nicknamed “Kastone” as in the local language Rukiga, a “kabale” ...
**
Kasese
Kasese is a town north of Lake George in the Western Region of Uganda. It originally grew around the copper mine at Kilembe, while attention later turned to cobalt mining. It is the chief town of Kasese District, and the district headquarters ...
*
Tororo
Tororo is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Tororo District.
History
Tororo was garrisoned by the Uganda Army's Air and Sea Battalion during the Uganda–Tanzania War ( ...
**
Jinja
**
Kotido
Kotido is a town in the Northern Region of Uganda. It is the chief municipal, administrative, and commercial center of the Kotido District and the site of the district headquarters.
Location
Kotido is approximately , by road, northwest of Moro ...
**
Moroto
**
Soroti
Soroti is a city in Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main City, commercial, and administrative center in curved out of Soroti District, one of the nine administrative districts in the Teso sub-region. Soroti City was immediately approved f ...
Catholicism in Uganda Pre-Independence
The first Europeans arrived in Uganda in 1862, when
John Speke
Captain John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an English explorer and officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile ...
traversed the region in a search for the source of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
. European arrivals increased in the following years, and the
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 ...
became the country's first Catholic
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
in 1879. Their evangelization was effective, and the baptized population increased to 8,500 by 1888. The conversion of natives was met with hostility by
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 ...
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 ...
, 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 ...
, who saw the Christian religion as jeopardizing his authority. Catholic converts and those affiliated with the White Fathers were often arrested and put to death for their beliefs, their remains strewed across the land as a warning to anyone considering conversion. This persecution and violence climaxed in the killing of the
Uganda Martyrs
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
They were killed on orders of Mwang ...
, when 22 Catholic converts 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, ...
. Persecution directed toward the region's Christians slowed the arrival of missionaries during this time, and many left out of fear. However, Uganda was annexed by the British in 1890, which allowed for more Christian influence to grip the country. The
Mill Hill Missionaries
The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill ( la, Societas Missionariorum S. Ioseph de Mill Hill), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert Alfred Vaughan, MH ...
and
Verona Fathers
Daniele Comboni (15 March 1831 – 10 October 1881) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop who served in the missions in Africa and was the founder of both the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus and the Comboni Missionary Sisters. Comboni ...
were the most prominent Catholic missionaries in the territory during the following years. Mill Hill Missionaries mainly evangelized in Eastern Uganda, while the Verona Fathers converted people in the North. Efforts to convert the indigenous population were successful, and the population of all Catholics in the country grew to 86,000 by the year 1905, and 370,000 in 1923, representing roughly 12.4% of the population. Uganda's first native Bishop,
Joseph Kiwanuka
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, was consecrated in 1939, where he served as
Apostolic Vicar
Apostolic may refer to:
The Apostles
An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission:
*The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles
*Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
of
Masaka
Masaka is a city in the Buganda Region of Uganda, west of Lake Victoria. The city is the headquarters of Masaka District.
Location
Masaka is approximately to the south-west of Kampala on the highway to Mbarara. The city is close to the Equator ...
.
See also
*
List of Saints from Africa
This is a list of saints, blesseds, venerables, and Servants of God from Africa, as recognized by the Catholic Church or other Christian denominations. These people were born, died, or lived their religious life in any of the states or territ ...
References
External links
Catholic Church in Uganda Laity in Uganda
{{Authority control
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 ...
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 ...