Charles Lwanga
Charles Lwanga (1 January 1860 – 3 June 1886) was a Ugandan convert to the Catholic Church who was martyred with his companions and is revered as a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
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. Lwanga was baptised by Pere Giraud on 15 November 1885.
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 or otherwise close to him.
Patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action; converts; torture victims
In the Martyrology
- June 3 Saints Charles Lwanga and 12 companions, martyrs of Uganda