Saint Charles Lwanga | |
|---|---|
 St. Charles Lwanga and his companions | |
| Martyr | |
| Born | 1 January 1860 Kingdom of Buganda |
| Died | 3 June 1886 (aged 26) Namugongo, Kingdom of Buganda |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Anglican Communion Lutheranism |
| Beatified | 1920, Rome, Kingdom of Italy, by Pope Benedict XV |
| Canonized | 18 October 1964, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Paul VI |
| Major shrine | Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine |
| Feast | 3 June[1][2] |
| Patronage | African Catholic Youth Action, converts, torture victims |
Charles Lwanga (Luganda: Kaloli Lwanga; 1 January 1860[3] – 3 June 1886) was a Ugandan convert to the Catholic Church who was martyred with a group of his peers and is revered as a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.[4]
A member of the Baganda tribe, Lwanga was born in the Kingdom of Buganda, the central and southern part of modern Uganda, and served as chief of the royal pages and later major-domo in the court of King Mwanga II of Buganda. He was baptised by Pere Giraud on 15 November 1885.[5]
In fear of losing the overbearing power he had on his subjects to a Christian worldview, King Mwanga II insisted that Christian converts abandon their new faith and executed many Anglicans and Catholics between 1885 and 1887, including Lwanga and other officials in the royal court.
- ^ Sister Mary Therese OCDS (July 2009). Heroes and Heroines Canonized in the Twentieth Centurybook II (1951–1999). AuthorHouse. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-4343-4336-9.
- ^ Bob Burnham (1 March 2017). Little Lessons from the Saints: 52 Simple and Surprising Ways to See the Saint in You. Loyola Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8294-4502-2.
- ^ DACB (2003). "Lwanga Charles: Dictionary of African Christian Biography". Dictionary of African Christian Biography (DACB). Archived from the original on 26 August 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
- ^ UMS0 (2000). "Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo, Brief History". Namugongo: Uganda Martyrs Shrine Organization (UMSO). Archived from the original on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ UMSO (2000). "Charles Lwanga: Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo". Namugongo: Uganda Martyrs Shrine Organisation (UMSO). Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.