Martyrs Day Uganda: the June 3rd national pilgrimage explained

The Uganda Martyrs were young men, most of them pages and servants at the royal court of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda, who were killed in a specific period of religious persecution in the mid-1880s. The context: the Buganda royal court in the 1880s was a place of intense competition between Islamic, Anglican (CMS), and Catholic (White Fathers) religious influences; these religious factions competed for the favour of the Kabaka and for the loyalty of court pages. Kabaka Mwanga II: Mwanga II became Kabaka in 1884 at approximately 16 years old; he was suspicious of the missionary influences at his court; he was also reportedly angered when Christian pages refused his sexual demands (a practice with specific historical context in the royal court). The killings: the executions took place in stages; the first killings were in January 1885; the major execution was on June 3, 1886 when a group of Catholic pages was killed at Namugongo; they were burned to death; the youngest was Kizito, age 14; the oldest was Matthias Mulumba, a county chief, aged approximately 70. The canonisation: the 22 Catholic martyrs were beatified in 1920 and canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1964 — the first Africans canonised in modern times; the 23 Anglican martyrs were similarly recognised by the Anglican Church.

The Namugongo pilgrimage builds over several days leading to June 3 and the Martyrs Day celebrations are one of the most visually and spiritually remarkable events in East Africa. The walking pilgrims: tens of thousands of pilgrims walk to Namugongo in the days before June 3, some walking from hundreds of kilometres away; pilgrims walk from Jinja, from Masaka, from western Uganda; the walk itself is a form of religious penance and devotion; pilgrims walk barefoot and may walk for 3-10 days. The June 3 mass: a large outdoor mass is held at the Catholic shrine; in major years (e.g. jubilee years) 3-5 million people attend; in ordinary years 1-2 million is typical; the mass is presided over by senior Catholic clergy and sometimes by the Pope via video; Pope Paul VI visited in 1969; Pope John Paul II visited in 1993; Pope Francis visited in November 2015. The Anglican service: the Anglican church at Namugongo also holds a major June 3 service; historically the two shrines have operated separately; the Anglican site is near the Catholic shrine.

The Namugongo pilgrimage is an overwhelmingly Catholic religious event but it is also a remarkable cultural phenomenon accessible to all visitors as observers. Visiting the shrine: the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine is open to visitors throughout the year as a heritage and religious site; the museum at the shrine tells the story of the martyrs with good historical detail; the site includes the spot where the executions took place; visiting outside the June 3 pilgrimage period is quiet and contemplative. Attending on June 3: if you are in Kampala around June 3, observing the pilgrimage is a profound experience even for non-Christians; the scale of the gathering, the depth of devotion visible in the pilgrims, and the cultural context of one of Africa’s most important religious commemorations are all valuable. Practical considerations: the crowds are very large; transport to Namugongo on June 3 is congested; arrive very early or plan to walk the final distance; the event is peaceful and well-organised by the Catholic Church and local authorities.

The Uganda Martyrs story is inseparable from the political and religious transformations of the Buganda Kingdom in the 1870s-1890s — one of the most turbulent and consequential periods in the kingdom’s history. The religious competition: in the decade before the martyrdoms, the Buganda court was simultaneously approached by Arab-Swahili Muslim traders, by CMS Anglican missionaries (arriving 1877, led by Alexander Mackay), and by White Fathers Catholic missionaries (arriving 1879); each group converted significant numbers of Buganda court members; the Kabaka was caught between these competing foreign religious influences. Kabaka Mwanga’s perspective: historians have assessed Mwanga’s actions as partly a response to his fear that Christian missionaries were undermining his authority — pages who owed primary loyalty to a foreign religion were a political threat as well as a personal affront; his anti-Christian persecution also had a political dimension as an assertion of royal authority. The legacy: the martyrdoms dramatically accelerated the spread of Christianity in Buganda; the executed Christians became heroes rather than deterrents; by the 1890s Buganda was predominantly Christian.

Uganda has several significant religious pilgrimage sites beyond Namugongo that reflect the country’s deep religious diversity. Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine: on the shores of Lake Victoria south of Kampala; the site where the first martyr, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe, was killed in 1885; a Catholic pilgrimage site associated with the start of the martyrs’ story. The Namirembe Cathedral: the Anglican cathedral on Namirembe Hill, Kampala; contains the graves of early Anglican missionaries including Alexander Mackay; an active place of worship and heritage site. Rubaga Cathedral: the Catholic cathedral on Rubaga Hill, Kampala; seat of the Archbishop of Kampala; a pilgrimage destination throughout the year. Sheikh Zubair’s Mosque at Old Kampala: the historic mosque at Old Kampala hill; significant to Uganda’s Muslim community (approximately 14% of the Uganda population is Muslim). Wantuma (rural shrines): traditional ancestral shrines in various parts of Uganda remain active religious sites for those practising traditional religions alongside or instead of Christianity and Islam.