Prime
Transnational appeal of the Uganda martyrs
Santi Martiri dell’Uganda (Holy Martyrs of Uganda), a late 20th Century parish church, is 10kms away from the Holy See’s seat of power—the Vatican. PHOTO / COURTESY
What you need to know:
- The Catholic martyrs, who were beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1964 by their church, have particularly made an indelible impression outside the bounds of Uganda.
After commemorating a subdued June 3 Martyrs Day for two successive years, yesterday’s Eucharistic celebrations at Namugongo were back into some semblance of the pre-pandemic order.
The Fort Portal Catholic Diocese animated the Martyrs Day liturgy, which drew millions of pilgrims to the Namugongo shrine.
Martyrs Day is marked as a public holiday in Uganda. In recent years, the celebration has—despite the best efforts of the coronavirus pandemic—established something of a transnational appeal.
The Uganda Martyrs—23 Anglican and 22 Catholic converts to Christianity executed between January 31, 1885 and January 27, 1887 at the behest of Kabaka Mwanga II—have been immortalised in divinity books and endlessly recalled since.
The Catholic martyrs, who were beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1964 by their church, have particularly made an indelible impression outside the bounds of Uganda.
Saint Kizito was the youngest martyr slain on Kabaka Mwanga’s watch. Saint Kizito was anywhere between 13 and 14 when he was burned alive on June 3, 1886. He had been baptised by Saint Charles Lwanga (who was also martyred on June 3, 1886) a little over a week earlier at Munyonyo.
The name Kizito is astonishingly popular in West African countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana. It has also enjoyed enormous acceptability in other countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia, where catholicism still has considerable latitude.
Saint Kizito is not the only Ugandan Martyr to wield tremendous influence. Churches named after Saint Charles Lwanga are unimaginably many. In Nigeria alone, brick-and-mortar facilities that have taken on the name St Charles Lwanga Parish Catholic Church can be found in Abuja and Kaduna, to mention but two.
Last December, Mr Charles Osagie—a parishioner—posted a photo to Facebook that captured the troves of artwork and symbolism relating to the spiritual life of the church. He purred: “It’s about started (sic) here, the dedication mass of our church building, St Charles Lwanga Parish Apo, Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja by His Grace, Most Rev Dr Ignatius Ayau Kaigama (Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja).”
In Italy, 10kms away from the Holy See’s seat of power—the Vatican—lies a late 20th Century parish church. The name—Santi Martiri dell’Uganda—is a bit of a giveaway. It translates to: Holy Martyrs of Uganda.
Built in 1980, Pope John Paul II elevated it to the status of a church on June 28, 1988. Pope John Paul II gave a moving homily during the church’s dedication that culminated in him concluding that “Christian Rome looks once again to Christian Africa for the modern and heroic page, which it has added to its martyrology and its history.”
He had earlier said thus to the Ugandan delegation in attendance: “Dear pilgrims from Uganda, it is a joy to have you here today. You are the heirs of the martyrs in whose honour this church has been built. They have handed down to you the treasure of the Christian faith. It is a treasure whose value is all the more evident because of their witness to it.
“They were prepared to die rather than be robbed of it. They knew that it is worth more than all earthly wealth because it gives access to riches that are infinitely superior and that last forever because it is the gateway to a life with which the life of the body cannot be compared.”
The parish church—whose maiden stone was laid in 1973—was the cornerstone of this year’s Holy Week. Preparations for Pope Francis’s meditations and Way of the Cross were entrusted to the church’s care, which it gave unstintedly to executing.
But it is in the peculiarities of church life that the transnational appeal of the martyrs of Uganda is stunning in its ubiquity. Strands of the martyrology can be glimpsed in a parish church in Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo. Situated in the township of Luveve, the Uganda Martyrs Roman Catholic Church—though hardly an edifice—has been in existence since 1962.
In the South African township of Umlazi sits another brick-and-mortar church called Uganda Martyrs Parish. A lot can be teased from the detail of the church’s emblem. It’s essentially the Roman cross planted in open fire with three males—either side of the divide—grappling with a furnace.
Parishioners have walked through Uganda Martyrs Parish’s doors in KwaZulu-Natal since 1971 when Nelson Mandela was still marooned on Robben Island.
Schools
To further show that the Uganda Martyrs are not about to recede from collective memory, the penchant for naming schools after them remains stronger than ever. And it’s not just in their native Uganda.
In 2012, the sleepy Botswanan city of Francistown cut the ribbon across the entrance to St Kizito Secondary School.
The school’s website reveals that “it is named after a young Roman Catholic martyr from Uganda, who lost his life for his faith.”
The website further adds that the school “is guided and managed under Roman Catholic Church principles.”
