St. Charles Lwanga and many other Africans, martyrs for the faith, died between 1885 and 1887 in Uganda. St. Charles and his companions were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964. Father Henry Byekwaso of the Diocese of Kampala, Uganda, was an altar server at the Canonization Mass. He recently said: “Stay strong in the faith. The things of this world are passing away; stay strong as the martyrs did. Christ is the one who stays and lasts forever.”
The story: In 1879, Catholicism began spreading in Uganda when the Religious Order known as the White Fathers, were peacefully received by King Mutesa of Uganda. The priests soon began preparing catechumens for Baptism and, before long, a number of the young pages in the king’s court had become Catholics. However, on the death of king, his son Mwanga, a deeply corrupt man, took the throne. Tremendous violence and persecution followed and the new King asked the newly Baptized if they were willing to keep their faith. They answered in unison, “Until death!”
On June 3, 1886, the Feast of the Ascension, Charles Lwanga was separated from his companions and severely tortured. Shortly before dying, he looked up and said in a loud voice, “Katonda! – My God!” His companions died the same day, all the while praying and singing hymns. Sadly, the persecutions didn’t end there and actually spread during the reign of Mwanga, with 100 Christians, both Catholics and Protestants, being tortured and killed.
Let us pray. “O God, who have made the blood of Martyrs the seed of Christians, mercifully grant that the field which is your Church, watered by the blood shed by Saints Charles Lwanga and his companions, may be fertile and always yield you an abundant harvest. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.”
