Namugongo Namugongo | |
|---|---|
| Uganda Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo | |
 Namugongo Martyrs Shrine (Catholic Basilica) by Tusk media (2023) | |
| Nickname: Namugongo | |
  Namugongo Location in Uganda | |
| Coordinates: 00°23′43″N32°39′57″E / 0.39528°N 32.66583°E | |
| Country |  Uganda |
| Region | Central Region |
| District | Wakiso District |
| County | Kyaddondo |
| Constituency | Kira Town Council |
| Municipality | Kira, Uganda |
| Elevation | 3,870 ft (1,180 m) |
Namugongo is a township in the Central Region of Uganda.
Namugongo is in Kyaliwajjala Ward, in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, approximately 12 kilometres (7 mi) north-east of Uganda's capital Kampala. [1] The township is bordered by Nsasa to the north, Sonde and Bukeerere to the east, Bweyogerere to the south-east, Naalya and Kireka directly to the south, Kyaliwajjala to the south-west, and central Kira to the west and north-west. The coordinates of Namugongo are 0°23'43.0"N, 32°39'57.0"E (Latitude:0.395289; Longitude: 32.665835). [2]
On 3 June 1886, 32 young men, pages of the court of King Mwanga II of Buganda, were burned to death at Namugongo for their refusal to renounce Christianity. They were Anglican and Catholic. Annually on 3 June, Christians from Uganda and other parts of the world congregate at Namugongo to commemorate the lives and religious beliefs of the Uganda Martyrs. Crowds have been estimated in hundreds of thousands in some years. [3] In June 2015, an estimated 2 million people attended the event. [4]
The Uganda Martyrs Shrine Namugongo were first recognised by Joshua Serufusa-Zake (1884–25 June 1985) when he was the Sabaddu of Kira Sub-County. He constructed a structure at the Namugongo site, where it appears shrines were built later for prayer.
His interest in Christianity was enhanced by his father's participation in the wars that brought Christianity to Uganda. His father, Semei Musoke Seruma Katiginya, had earned a name for brevity, "Ngubu" from the wars.
Churches stand in locations where martyrs met their fate, their memory enshrined in the murals and stained glass adorning these sacred spaces. The most prominent shrine is Namugongo, which is located where St. Charles Lwanga and his companions were burned. The Ugandan Christian tradition of honoring martyrs is important because, in doing so, Ugandan Christians honor their pre-Christian heritage of spirituality and ancestry. The martyr's feast happens on June 3, and there are about half a million people who participate in the feast annually, and the day of the feast is a national holiday. Many pilgrims come from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and all over Uganda to take part in the Ugandan Martyr's Feast Day at Namugongo, and many others follow the celebration on national television. [5]
Twenty-two of the Catholic martyrs were canonized by Pope Paul VI on 18 October 1964 and are regarded as saints in the Catholic Church. A basilica has been built at the spot where the majority of them were burned to death. A church stands at the place where the Anglican martyrs met their death, about 2 miles (3.2 km) further east from the Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs. Documentation is available on 45 martyrs but it is believed that many more believers met their death at the command of Kabaka Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887. [6]
Namugongo is the location of the Uganda Martyrs' Secondary School, one of Uganda's leading high schools. The mixed boarding school is a partner with the Stephen Shames Foundation, based in Brooklyn, New York, in the instruction of information technology methods and applications to high-school students in Uganda. [7] [8]
The following points of interest are found at Namugongo or near its boundaries:
James Hannington was an English Anglican missionary and martyr. He was the first Anglican bishop of East Africa.
Charles Lwanga was a Ugandan convert to the Catholic Church who was martyred with a group of his peers and is revered as a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Danieri Basammula-Ekkere Mwanga II Mukasa was the 31st Kabaka of Buganda who ruled from 1884 until 1888 and from 1889 until 1897.
Adolphus Ludigo-Mkasa, also known as Adolofu Mukasa Ludigo, Adolf Mukasa Ludigo was a Ugandan Catholic martyr killed for his faith.
The Uganda Martyrs are a group of 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda, now part of Uganda, who were executed between 31 January 1885 and 27 January 1887.
The Catholic Church in Uganda is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe was a Ugandan Catholic martyr and the majordomo at the court of Mwanga II of Buganda, recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Achilleus Kiwanuka, also known as Achileo Kiwanuka or Achilles Kiwanuka or Achiles Kiwanuka, was a Ugandan Catholic martyr revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Saint Kizito also known as Kizito Omuto, was one of the Martyrs of Uganda and the youngest martyr slain by the King Mwanga II of Buganda. He was baptized on 25/26 May 1886, by Charles Lwanga, the leader of Uganda's Christian community at the time, at Munyonyo, and burned alive on 3 June 1886 in Namugongo. He was canonized on 18 October 1964 by Pope Paul VI in Rome. His feast day is on June 3. He is considered as the patron saint of children and primary schools.
The Archdiocese of Kampala is the Metropolitan See for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical province of Kampala in Uganda.
Kira Town, a municipality in the Wakiso District of the Central Region of Uganda, is the country's second most populous city. It is administered by the Kira Town Council, an urban local government.
Munyonyo is an area on the northern shores of Lake Victoria and part of the metropolitan area of Kampala, in Makindye Division.
Kireka is the name of a township in Central Uganda. It is one of the six townships or Wards that constitute Kira Municipality in Wakiso District. The other five Wards in Kira Municipality are Bweyogerere Ward, Kimwaanyi Ward, Kira Ward, Kirinnya Ward and Kyaliwajjala Ward.
The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs.
Naalya is a township in Kira Municipality, in Kyaddondo County, Wakiso District, in Uganda.
Busega is a neighborhood within Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda.
Kyaliwajjala is a neighborhood in Kira Municipality, Kyaddondo County, Wakiso District, in Central Uganda.
The Munyonyo Martyrs’ Shrine is a Roman Catholic shrine and Minor Basilica dedicated to the Ugandan Martyrs.
Kimwanyi is a neighborhood in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, in the Buganda Region of Uganda. Kimwanyi also refers to Kimwanyi Parish, in Kira sub-county, Kyaddondo County, Wakiso District. It is one of the six parishes (wards) of Kira Municicipality, namely; Kimwanyi, Kira, Kyaliwajjala, Kireka, Bweyogerere and Kirinnya.
The Busega Martyrs Memorial also known as Busega Martyrs Memorial Church is the site where the first three Ugandan Martyrs were killed in 1885.
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