Uganda Martyrs

For the university, see Uganda Martyrs University.

Uganda Martyrs
1962 illustration by Albert Wider.
Died1885–87, Uganda
Martyred byMwanga II
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
Lutheranism
Feast3 June[1]
Notable martyrs

The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.[2][3]

They were killed on orders of Mwanga II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda. The deaths took place at a time when there was a three-way religious struggle for political influence at the Buganda royal court. The episode also occurred against the backdrop of the "Scramble for Africa" – the invasion, occupation, division, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers.[4] A few years after, the English Church Missionary Society used the deaths to enlist wider public support for the British acquisition of Uganda for the Empire.[5] The Catholic Church beatified the 22 Catholic Uganda martyrs of its faith in 1920 and they were canonized in 1964 by Pope Paul VI. at the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.[6][7]

  1. ^ Edgar R. Batte (3 June 2018). "Uganda: Understanding the Essence, Significance of June 3rd As Uganda Martyrs' Day". Daily Monitor.
  2. ^ "Martyrs of Uganda". Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  3. ^ "The Christian Martyrs of Uganda". The Buganda Home Page. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  4. ^ Moorehead, Alan (1963). "Chapter 16, Paradise Reformed". The White Nile. Penguin. ISBN 9780060956394.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Apter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Mapeera relative speaks out on her impression of Uganda". New Vision. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  7. ^ "How Uganda's martyrs shaped Catholic hymns". Monitor. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.