Uganda Edition
Martyrs' Day
The anniversary of the 1886 execution of 45 Christian converts (22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans) by the Buganda king Mwanga II. The martyrs were burned alive at Namugongo for refusing to renounce their faith. Over 3 million pilgrims walk to the Namugongo Shrine every year, some traveling over 200 kilometers on foot. AHA! moment: King Mwanga II was not anti-Christian. He was anti-disobedience. The martyrs refused to obey his orders because their faith came first. Mwanga saw this as a threat to his authority, and he ordered them killed. The martyrs walked to their deaths singing hymns. The Namugongo Shrine is now the largest Christian pilgrimage site in Africa, and the day is both devotion and identity. The martyrs are the patron saints of Uganda, and their faith is the foundation of the Ugandan church.
