St. Charles Lwanga and the Uganda Martyrs: Feast and Prayer

St. Charles Lwanga and his twenty-one companions, the Catholic Martyrs of Uganda, were young men and boys, most of them pages at the court of King Mwanga II of Buganda, who were killed between 1885 and 1887 for refusing to give up their faith and for resisting the king’s sexual demands. Charles Lwanga, the leader of the pages, protected the younger boys, baptized several of them the night before their arrest, and was burned alive at Namugongo on June 3, 1886. The martyrs were canonized in 1964, and every June 3 millions of pilgrims, many on foot from neighboring countries, gather at their shrine at Namugongo. Charles Lwanga is the patron of African Catholic youth. Below are their story, Scripture and prayers to the Uganda Martyrs.

A short prayer to St. Charles Lwanga, written for this page:

St. Charles Lwanga, you protected the young and died singing for Christ.
Pray for young people everywhere, that they may be pure, brave and faithful,
and for the Church in Africa, that the seed of the martyrs may bear abundant fruit. Amen.

The story of the Uganda Martyrs

Catholic missionaries, the White Fathers, arrived in the kingdom of Buganda, in present-day Uganda, in 1879, and many young people at the royal court became catechumens and Christians. The young king Mwanga II, who came to the throne in 1884, at first tolerated them, but he came to see the Christians as a threat to his power, and he was enraged that the Christian pages refused his sexual advances.

In November 1885 Mwanga had the chief page and royal majordomo Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, a Catholic who had rebuked him, beheaded. Charles Lwanga took his place as head of the pages and continued to protect the boys in his care. In May 1886 the king assembled his pages and ordered the Christians to step forward; about thirty, Catholics and Anglicans, did so. That night Charles Lwanga baptized several catechumens, among them the youngest, Kizito, about fourteen. The prisoners were marched to Namugongo, and on June 3, 1886, Charles Lwanga and many others were wrapped in reeds and burned alive, praying and singing. Other Catholics and Anglicans were killed before and after, in 1886 and 1887.

Pope Benedict XV beatified the twenty-two Catholic martyrs in 1920, and Pope St. Paul VI canonized them on October 18, 1964, during the Second Vatican Council. In 1969 Paul VI visited their shrine at Namugongo, the first visit of a pope to Africa. The Church also honors the Anglican martyrs who died with them.

Scripture

The reading often used for martyrs (Wisdom 3:1–6, Douay-Rheims):

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery:
And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace.
And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality.
Afflicted in few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace he hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust he hath received them, and in time there shall be respect had to them.

What are the Uganda Martyrs the patrons of?

St. Charles Lwanga is the patron of African Catholic youth and of Catholic Action in Africa, named by Pope Pius XI in 1934.
The martyrs are invoked by young people facing pressure to give up their faith or their purity.
They are patrons of Uganda.

Prayers to the Uganda Martyrs

Written for this page.

For young people

St. Charles Lwanga and companions, you were young like us and gave your lives for Christ.
Help young people today to stand up for what is right, to protect the weak, and to stay faithful under pressure. Amen.

For victims of abuse

St. Charles Lwanga, you protected the boys in your care from abuse.
Pray for all who have been abused, for their healing and justice,
and for all who work to keep children safe. Amen.

For the Church in Africa

Holy martyrs of Uganda, pray for the Church in Africa, its families, priests and catechists,
that it may grow in holiness, unity and peace. Amen.

Feast day

The memorial of Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs, is June 3, the day of the burning at Namugongo. In Uganda, Martyrs’ Day is a national holiday.

Frequently asked questions

Who were the Uganda Martyrs?

Twenty-two Catholics, mostly young pages of the royal court of Buganda, killed for their faith between 1885 and 1887, together with Anglican martyrs.

What is Namugongo?

The place near Kampala where Charles Lwanga and many others were burned alive on June 3, 1886; today it has a basilica and shrine that draws millions of pilgrims each June.

St. Charles Lwanga and the Uganda Martyrs: Namugongo, Feast Day (June 3) and Prayer