Charles Lwanga and Companions
Born	1885,unknown
Died	1887,Uganda
Martyred by	Mwanga II
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Lutheranism
Beatified	1920 by Pope Benedict XV
Canonized	18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI
Major shrine	Basilica Church of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo
Feast	3 June
Notable martyrs	Charles Lwanga Kizito Andrew Kaggwa

The Uganda Martyrs were Christian converts who were murdered for their faith in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda. The main reasons for their murder were refusal to offer sacrifices to the traditional gods and objection to and resistance to King Mwanga's homosexual practices. Their killings seem to have been tied to specific resistance to Mwanga's attempts to engage in homosexual practices with those killed immediately before the killings.^[1]

Charles Lwanga and Companions [edit]

Saint Charles (Carl) Lwanga and his companions, Martyrs of Uganda, were a group of Christians (both Roman Catholics and Anglicans) who were murdered by Mwanga II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda, between 1885 and 1887.^[2] These deaths were part of a three-way religious struggle for political control of the Buganda royal court. In 1877, the Church Missionary Society in London had sent Protestant missionaries to the court, followed two years later by the French Catholic White Fathers. These two competed with each other and the Zanzibar-based Muslim traders for converts and influence. By the mid-1880s, many members of the Buganda court had converted and become proxies for the religious and nationalist conflict being played out in the court. Kabaka Mwanga II, upon his ascent to the throne, attempted to destroy the foreign influences he felt threatened the Buganda state, but was instead deposed by armed converts in 1888.^[3]

Anglican James Hannington, the Protomartyr, had been dispatched to be the bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, but he was executed with his companions before they could enter Buganda.

Twenty-two of the martyrs were Roman Catholics and were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. Although the Anglicans were not canonized in the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope did mention them.^[4] Their feast day is June 3. They were:^[5]

1. Achileo Kiwanuka
2. Adolphus Ludigo-Mukasa
3. Ambrosius Kibuuka
4. Anatoli Kiriggwajjo
5. Andrew Kaggwa
6. Antanansio Bazzekuketta
7. Bruno Sserunkuuma
8. Charles Lwanga
9. Denis Ssebuggwawo Wasswa
10. Gonzaga Gonza
11. Gyavira Musoke
12. James Buuzaabalyaawo
13. John Maria Muzeeyi
14. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe
15. Kizito
16. Lukka Baanabakintu
17. Matiya Mulumba
18. Mbaga Tuzinde
19. Mugagga Lubowa
20. Mukasa Kiriwawanvu
21. Nowa Mawaggali
22. Ponsiano Ngondwe

The Ugandan Martyrs were featured in the film Millions.

The two martyrs of Paimol [edit]

The martyrs, Blessed Daudi Okelo and Blessed Jildo Irwa, were two young catechists from Uganda. They belonged to the Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the large Luo group. They lived and were martyred in the years immediately following the foundation of the mission of Kitgum by the Comboni Missionaries in 1915.^[6]

Archbishop Janani Luwum [edit]

When commemorating the martyrs of Uganda, the Church of England includes Archbishop Janani Luwum, who was murdered in 1977 by Idi Amin's henchmen; they also commemorate Luwum separately on February 17.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• The Christian Martyrs of Uganda
• Biographical sketches of memorable Christians of the past
• Encyclopædia Britannica Online
• Uganda Martyrs' Shrine, Namugongo
• The Uganda Martyrs from the August 2008 issue of The Word Among Us magazine

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