- Charles Lwanga
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Saint Charles Lwanga 
Charles Lwanga and his companionsMartyr Born 1860 or 1865
Buganda, UgandaDied June 3, 1886
Namugongo, UgandaHonored in Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism Beatified 1920 by Pope Benedict XV Canonized October 18, 1964 by Pope Paul VI Major shrine Basilica Church of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo Feast June 3 Patronage African Catholic Youth Action, converts, torture victims Charles Lwanga (also known as Karoli Lwanga) (1860[1][2] or 1865–June 3, 1886) was a Ugandan Catholic catechist martyred for his faith and revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in the kingdom of Buganda in the southern part of modern Uganda, and served as a page and later major-domo in the court of King Mwanga II. As part of the king's effort to resist foreign colonization, he had begun to insist that Christian converts abandon their new faith, and executed many Anglicans and Roman Catholics between 1885 and 1887, many of whom were officials in the royal court or otherwise very close to him, including Lwanga.
Martyrdom
The persecution started in 1885. After a massacre of Anglican missionaries led by Bishop James Hannington, the leader of the Catholic community, Joseph Mukasa--who was then major-domo of the court, as well as a lay catechist--reproached the king for the deed against which he had counseled him. Mwanga had Mukasa beheaded and arrested all of his followers. This took place on November 15th. The king then ordered that Lwanga, who was chief page at that time, take up Mukasa's duties. That same day, Lwanga sought baptism as a Catholic by a missionary priest.
On May 25, 1886, Mwanga ordered a general assembly of the court while they were settled at Munyonyo, where he charged two of the pages, whom he then condemned to death. The following morning, Lwanga secretly baptized those of his charges who were still only catechumens. Later that day, the king called a court assembly in which he interrogated all present to see if any would renounce Christianity. Led by Lwanga, the royal pages declared their fidelity to their religion, upon which the king ordered them bound and condemned them to death, directing that they be marched to the traditional place of execution. Two of the prisoners were executed on the march there.
When preparations were completed and the day had come for the execution on June 3rd, Lwanga was separated from the others by the Guardian of the Sacred Flame for private execution, in keeping with custom . As he was being burnt, Charles said to the Guardian, "It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me".
Twelve Catholic boys and men and nine Anglicans were then burnt alive (another Catholic, Mbaga Tuzinde, was speared to death for refusing to renounce Christianity, and his body was thrown into the furnace to be burned along with those of Lwanga and the others[3]). One of the reported reasons the ire of the king was particularly inflamed against the Christians was because they refused to accede to demands to participate in homosexual acts with him.[4] Charles Lwanga, in particular, had protected the pages from King Mwanga's sexual advances.[5]
Charles Lwanga and the other Catholics who accompanied him in death were canonized in 1964 by Pope Paul VI.[6] Although the Anglicans could not be canonized, they were named "with the others, also deserving mention" for enduring "death for the name of Christ".[7]
References
- ^ Charles Lwanga's profile from UgandaMartyrsShrine.org Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
- ^ Charles Lwanga's profile from Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
- ^ Mbaga Tuzinde's profile from UgandaMartyrsShrine.org Retrieved on 2008-08-17.
- ^ Breviarium Romanum, Office of Ss. Matthias Murumba, Charles Lwanga and Companions, Lesson v.
- ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography: Charles Lwanga
- ^ "Charles Lwanga". Patron Saints Index. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc13.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Vatican Archive
External links
Categories:- 1860s births
- 1886 deaths
- 19th-century Christian saints
- 19th-century executions
- 19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
- Converts to Roman Catholicism from pagan religions
- Converts to Roman Catholicism
- Executed Ugandan people
- People executed by Buganda
- People executed by burning
- Ugandan clergy
- People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar
- Anglican saints
- Ugandan Roman Catholic saints
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