22 Ugandans who died for their faith in 1885-87

[Rob2]

St Charles Lwanga and Companions

Celebrated on June 3rd

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This group of 22 Ugandans who died for their faith in 1885-87, includes Charles Lwanga, Joseph Mukasa, Judge Matthias Murumba and Andrew Kagwa, a leading catechist.

The tyrannical King Mwanga ordered the persecutions. He began by killing an Anglican missionary, Bishop James Hannington, and several Christian converts in his court. When Charles Lwanga and several others protested, Mwanga ordered them to be dismembered and burnt alive.

Many Christians of all denominations were killed before Mwanga was overthrown in 1888.

The martyrs, lead by Charles Lwanga are reputed to have sung hymns as they perished. They were all canonised on October 18 1964 by Pope Paul VI.
(from ICN)

 

[Leferdion]

May these martyrs intercede for some us, who at times in the face of persecution may be tempted to be cowardly and deny Jesus. I feel this way too, cowardly at times. I pray God for His strength and courage in the face of adversity.

 

[StudentMI]

St Charles Lwanga and Companions, pray for us.

 

[Dovekin]

Nor do we want to forget those others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, have faced death for the name of Christ.
Paul VI. Homily at the Canonization of Charles Lwanga and his companions

There were 9 Anglicans who were martyred along with St Charles Lwanga and the others. St Paul VI remembered them and even said they were killed on account of the name of Christ.

St John Paul II went even further in Ut Unum Sint:

All Christian Communities know that, thanks to the power given by the Spirit, obeying that will and overcoming those obstacles are not beyond their reach. All of them in fact have martyrs for the Christian faith. Despite the tragedy of our divisions, these brothers and sisters have preserved an attachment to Christ and to the Father so radical and absolute as to lead even to the shedding of blood…

In a theocentric vision, we Christians already have a common Martyrology . This also includes the martyrs of our own century, more numerous than one might think, and it shows how, at a profound level, God preserves communion among the baptized in the supreme demand of faith, manifested in the sacrifice of life itself. The fact that one can die for the faith shows that other demands of the faith can also be met. I have already remarked, and with deep joy, how an imperfect but real communion is preserved and is growing at many levels of ecclesial life. I now add that this communion is already perfect in what we all consider the highest point of the life of grace, martyria unto death, the truest communion possible with Christ who shed his Blood, and by that sacrifice brings near those who once were far off (cf. Eph 2:13).
John Paul II. Ut Unum Sint 83-84.

Blessed are these martyrs, who open our spirit to missionary purposes; and may they infuse us with courage, joy and hope.

 

[jeannetherese]

Saint Charles and Companions, pray for us.
Amen.

 

[OddBird]

And in the words of Pope Francis:

From the age of the Apostles to our own day, a great cloud of witnesses has been raised up to proclaim Jesus and show forth the power of the Holy Spirit. Today, we recall with gratitude the sacrifice of the Uganda martyrs, whose witness of love for Christ and his Church has truly gone “to the end of the earth”. We remember also the Anglican martyrs whose deaths for Christ testify to the ecumenism of blood. All these witnesses nurtured the gift of the Holy Spirit in their lives and freely gave testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ, even at the cost of their lives, many at such a young age.

St Charles Lwanga and companions, pray for us.