Charles Lwanga
Charles Lwanga (Luganda: Kaloli Lwanga; 1 January 1860 – 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.
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 |
| Patronage | African Catholic Youth Action, converts, torture victims |
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.
In an effort to resist a Christian worldview that undermined the authority of his office, 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.