The forgotten martyrs of Uganda

(Vatican Radio) Although it didn’t receive much coverage from the secular press, Uganda Martyrs' Day, held each year on June 3, attracted some two million pilgrims to Namugongo Holy Shrine in Kampala.
The celebrations commemorate the Martyrdom that took place over 124 years ago, of the 22 young men, who were killed for their faith under the orders of Kabaka Mwanga.
There are 24 Catholic Uganda Martyrs. Twenty-two of them were beatified by Pope Benedict XV on 6th June 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on 18th October 1964. The other two martyrs were speared to death in Paimol, Gulu in the North of Uganda in October 1918. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II on 20th October 2002.
There are also Anglican martyrs that were killed by King Mwanga between 1885 and 1887 together with the Catholic martyrs making total of 45.
Speaking to Vatican Radio's Emer McCarthy, Father Timothy Lehan SVD, Secretary General of Propaganda Fides, the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith remembers his last journey to Uganda.

"I remember stopping at the cross of a missionary, 20 minutes later another cross of a missionary, 25 minutes later, the cross of a Cathechist..." He says he calls it the way of the Cross and points out the sheer number of missionaries who were killed there. He says it is a great gift to be able to partake of that mission...

He says to participate in the missionary effort of the Church "doesn't necessarily mean that I have to physically go on mission. It means that I can actually pray for the mission without going, it can also help that I can help the mission. "Anybody - he says - can say that I want to participate in the hope and the life of the mission" in one way or another.

Father Lehan speaks of the celebration of the Ugandan Martyrs in June and says "I remember all these smiling faces" stretching into the horizon. Vast plains full of people who came to commemorate the martyrs. Some two million people came from Uganda and from neighbouring countries to honour the young men who gave their lives for their faith.

He also tells of a visit to a school in Uganda, and of how, upon his arrival, he discovered there were police interrogating the girls. "I innocently said: have some of these girls done something wrong that the police are here? And the sister said: no. These girls have run away from home because they want education. And the police are here to make sure they are here on their own free will. And then we can defend having them here even though they are minors".

He explains that in the culture of these societies, the boys become warriors and cattle herders; the girls are normally sold for cattle. And so - he says - at 11 or 12 years of age, they look to the sisters, and they run away from the security of their own homes and go to the sisters to be educated.

Father Lehan points out that this is part of what "the Church is doing in some of these countries today: it's giving hope to the youth and it's giving a voice to the voiceless".

"You have to see it and you have to witness it". And - he says - he invites people to go to the missions for 2 or 3 weeks and live with the Sisters or with the Parish Priest, and see what their daily lives are like.

Father Lehan says " they will discover a wonderful side of a Church which is very poor, which has very little resources, that is totally overextended in trying to cope with all the situations, giving an absolutely wonderful testimony".

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