Vol. XVIII x No. 5
JUNE 2006
VOCATION
MISSIONARY MODELS
Express here your views!
CALENDAR FOR THE RECOLLECTIONS AND SEARCH –IN WORKSHOPS 2006-2007
In Manila
May 2-9: Making decisions (Pre-postulancy retreat)
August 6: Human vocation
September 3: Christian vocations
October 20-22: Messengers of life
December 27-29: Mission
2007
January 7: St. Daniel Comboni
IN THE PROVINCES
July 16: Tacloban (Leyte)
September 23: Baguio
October 8: Naga (Bicol)
November 12: Iloilo-Bacolod
November 19: Bohol
2007
February 2-4: Cagayan de Oro
February 9-11: DavaoFebruary 24-25: Cebu
Write to
Fr. Vincent and Fr. Marnie
Vocation team
Comboni Missionaries 282Roosevelt Ave
1105 Quezon City M.M
Philippines
Tel. 414-3164/372-5859
or E-mail:
to WORLD MISSION
Uganda
The first African saints
By Vincent Mkabela
Comboni Missionary
Uganda is at least one-third Catholic. The martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and his companions in the late 19th century was a flowering seed. They were justly proclaimed as the first African saints.
It was only during the nineteenth century that the missionaries started bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the African continent. One of the most active Catholic missionary orders, the White Fathers (also known as Missionaries of Africa), did pioneer work in Uganda (East Africa). In 1879 they started their evangelization apostolate among the Baganda. The arrival of the missionaries, both Anglican and Catholic, set the stage for new developments and marked a turning point in the religious life of the people, as well as of the political structure of the kingdom and the region at large. The history of Buganda (the modern Uganda) from this point on took a different turn. A social revolution that was to transform all aspects of people's lives had set in, and the events that followed, unpredictable as they were, added to the discomfort that the new changes had brought about.
Five years after the arrival of the missionaries, in 1884, the King of Buganda, King Mutesa I, died and his son Prince Mwanga II succeeded his father as the king. Although Mwanga had shown some love for the missionaries as a young prince, his attitude changed. The once lively and enthusiastic prince turned into an intolerant and vicious persecutor of Christians and all foreigners. He felt that the powers and authority his predecessors had enjoyed were dwindling and had disintegrated under the influence of the missionaries and their converts. The converts had diverted their loyalty to some other authority and their all-out allegiance could no longer be counted on. For Mwanga, the ultimate humiliation was the insolence he received from the pages when they (the least subservient of servants) resisted his homosexual advances. According to the old tradition, the king was the center of power and authority and he could dispense with any life as he pleased. Given those conflicting values, Mwanga was determined to rid his kingdom of the new teaching and its followers.
“I forgive him”
In October 1885, Mwanga II, out of hatred, ordered his followers to kill an Anglican missionary, Bishop James Hannington. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, a senior advisor to the king and a Catholic convert, condemned the king for ordering the death without giving the bishop a chance to defend himself as was customary. The king was annoyed that Mukasa would question his actions. He had him arrested, too, and killed. On Nov. 15, Mukasa became the first Catholic martyr, when he was beheaded at Nakivubo.
"A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die," Joseph proclaimed. "Mwanga has condemned me without cause but tell him I forgive him from my heart." To the king's astonishment, the Christians were not cowed by his sudden outrage. Inspired by this martyrdom, Charles Lwanga, the man who took Joseph's place as chief attendant, desired to become a Catholic also. He received instruction during the night from the missionaries and was baptized. Charles then taught the other attendants in the palace about the Catholic faith. He encouraged them to remain chaste and faithful, and protected his companions from the demands of King Mwanga. Later, the king discovered that his servants were converting and becoming Christians. He realized that they were very different; refusing to compromise their new faith.
In May 1886, the king called one of his attendants named Mwafu and asked what the others had been doing that kept them away from him. When Mwafu replied that they were receiving religious instruction from Denis Sebuggwawo, Mwanga's temper boiled over. He had Denis brought to him and killed him himself by thrusting a spear through his throat.
He then ordered that the royal compound be sealed and guarded so that no one could escape while he summoned the country's executioners. Knowing what was coming, Charles Lwanga baptized four catechumens that night, including a thirteen-year-old named Kizito. The next morning Mwanga had his whole court brought before him and separated the Christians from the rest, by saying: "Those who do not pray, stand by me; those who do pray, stand over there." He demanded of the fifteen boys and young men (all under 25) if they were Christians and intended to remain Christians. When they answered "yes" with firmness and courage, King Mwanga condemned them to death.
“I’ll pray for you”
He commanded that the group be taken on a 37-mile-trek to the place of execution at Namugongo. The chief executioner begged one of the boys, his own son, Mbaga, to escape and hide but Mbaga refused. The cruelly-bound prisoners passed the home of the White Fathers on their way to execution. Father Lourdel remembered thirteen-year-old Kizito laughing and chattering. Lourdel almost fainted when he saw the courage and joy these condemned converts, his friends, showed on their way to martyrdom. Three of these faithful were killed on the road.
A Christian soldier named James Buzabaliawo was brought before the king. When King Mwanga ordered him to be killed with the rest, James said: "Goodbye, then. I am going to Heaven, and I will pray to God for you." When a grief-stricken Father Lourdel raised his hand in absolution as James passed by, James lifted his tied hands and pointed up to show that he knew he was going to Heaven and would meet Father Lourdel there. With a smile, he said to Lourdel: "Why are you so sad? This is nothing to the joys you have taught us to look forward to."
Also condemned were Andrew Kagwa, a Kigowa chief, who had converted his wife and several others, and Matthias Murumba (or Kalemba) an assistant judge. The chief counselor was so furious with Andrew that he proclaimed he would not eat until he knew Andrew was dead. When the executioners hesitated, Andrew egged them on by saying: "Don't keep your counselor hungry. Kill me." When the same counselor described what he was going to do with Matthias, he added: "No doubt, his god will rescue him." Matthias replied: "God will rescue me. But you will not see how He does it because He will take my soul and leave you only my body." Matthias was cut up on the road and left there to die – which took at least three days.
Catholics and Protestants together
The original caravan reached Namugongo and the survivors were kept imprisoned for seven days. On June 3,1886, they were brought out, wrapped in reed mats, and placed on the pyre. Mbaga was killed first by order of his father, the chief executioner, who had tried one last time to change his son's mind. The rest were burned to death. Thirteen Catholics and eleven Protestants died. They died calling on the name of Jesus while proclaiming: "You can burn our bodies, but you cannot harm our souls." Within a year after the deaths of the martyrs, the number of Catholic baptisms rose from 200 to over 500; and the number of catechumens, from 800 to 3,000. Today, Uganda is at least one-third Catholic.
In 1920, Pope Benedict XV beatified these 22 martyrs in Rome. And Pope Paul VI canonized them during the course of the Second Vatican Council in 1964. This was a first for modern Africa and a source of pride throughout the continent. To honor these modern saints, Paul VI became the first reigning pope to visit sub-saharan Africa when he stayed in Uganda from July 31 to August 2, 1969 – a visit which included a pilgrimage to the site of the martyrdom at Namugongo. He also dedicated a site for the building of a shrine in honor of the martyrs, at the spot where Charles Lwanga was killed (see box).
During his visit in Uganda, Pope Paul VI, inspired by the life and example of the Martyrs of Uganda, made a striking remark: “You Africans are missionaries to yourselves.” In other words: you Africans must now continue, upon this continent, the building up of the Church with great intensity. Today, there are many missionaries coming from Uganda and other parts of Africa working and witnessing Christ in different parts of the world.
Every year, June 3rd, the day when most of the martyrs were killed, is marked as a national holiday in Uganda. It is also marked worldwide on the church calendar as a day to honor the Uganda Martyrs. <WM
“Our champions, our heroes, our teachers”
Pope Paul VI expressed the reason of his pilgrimage to Uganda in 1969: “Why have I come to Africa, to Uganda, and right here to Namugongo? I have come to do honor to your Martyrs. Here, a Sanctuary is being raised to the glory of the Lord in their memory and I decided to come from Rome to bless the altar of this Sanctuary. My intention is to venerate also, by this act, all those other Christians who have given their lives for the Catholic faith in Africa, here and everywhere. But, you will ask me, why should the Martyrs be honored? And I answer you: It is because they have performed the most heroic and, therefore, the greatest and most beautiful of all actions. They have, as I said, laid down their lives for their faith, that is, for their religion and for the freedom of their conscience. Therefore, they are our champions, our heroes, our teachers. They teach us how real Christians should be. Listen to me now: Should a Christian be a coward? Should he be afraid? Should he betray his own faith? No! Of course not! Your Martyrs teach us just how true Christians should be, especially young Christians, African Christians. For Christians must be courageous; they must be strong. They must, as Saint Peter wrote, “be firm in the faith” (1 Pet. 5, 9). Your Martyrs teach us how much faith is worth! But, you ask me, is faith worth more than life? Yes, indeed! Faith is more valuable than our present life, which is a mortal life; whereas faith is the beginning of the immortal life of happiness – that is, of the life of God in us. Do you know this most important truth? Your answer should be: Yes, because you have learned that faith is accepting the Word of God; and whoever accepts the Word of God begins to live in God Himself.” <WM
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