The Holy Martyrs of Uganda

Martyrs
(Died 1885–1887)

The Holy Martyrs of Uganda are a group of twenty-two young men, pages and servants of the court of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda, who were put to death between 1885 and 1887 for their Christian faith. They represent one of the most remarkable fruits of the missionary work of the White Fathers in Africa, and they are the first martyrs of sub-Saharan Africa to be canonized.

The Catholic martyrs, led by Charles Lwanga, chief of the royal pages, ranged in age from thirteen to thirty. They had been instructed in the faith by the White Fathers and had embraced Christianity with wholehearted devotion. When Kabaka Mwanga, who had grown hostile to Christian influence at his court, commanded them to renounce their faith and submit to his immoral demands, they refused with one voice.

On May 26, 1886, Charles Lwanga baptized several of his companions in the night before their execution. The following day, twenty-two Catholics and several Anglican converts were marched to Munyonyo and then to Namugongo, a distance of thirty-seven miles. There, after a month of imprisonment, they were wrapped in reed mats and burned alive on June 3, 1886. The youngest, Kizito, was only thirteen years old. They went to their deaths singing and praying, forgiving their persecutors.

Pope Paul VI canonized the twenty-two Catholic martyrs on October 18, 1964, the first canonization carried out in Africa. Their feast is kept on June 3, and their shrine at Namugongo is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Africa, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year.