For a boy named Charles, for whom I have been praying, today I have chosen St. Charles Lwanga and Companions as my Saint of the day.
The Society of Missionaries of Africa (known as the White Fathers) evangelized Uganda and within 6 years had built up a strong community of converts. Many of these converts lived and taught at King Mwanga's court. The king was a violent ruler and pedophile who forced himself on the young men and boys who served as pages in his court. The Christians tried to protect the pages from the king.
When the chief steward, Joseph Mkasa, was killed for standing up to the king, Charles Lwanga took over the instruction and Christian leadership at court. He also took charge of keeping the pages out of King Mwanga's hands. When the king asked a young page what had been keeping him away, the page answered that he had been taking religious instructions. This infuriated the king, who had the court sealed off so that no one could leave and he summoned his executioners. Knowing what was coming, Charles Lwanga baptized four converts that night. The next day, the king separated out the Christians from the rest of the court. When they refused to renounce their faith, Charles and the others were marched 37 miles to their execution site (two were executed on the way), where they were burned to death.
The White Fathers were expelled from the country, but they returned after King Mwanga's death. They found that the faith had been kept alive and grown in their absence - 500 Christians and 1000 catechumens were waiting for them . . . planted there by the seed of the blood of the martyrs.
The feast day of the Ugandan Martyrs is June 3
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