Berkeley, Tuesday, May 26, 2026 1:51 am
[1] Also mentions Joseph Mkasa.
Feast day: June 3.
Day 1. May 26. 1.51 am. I have been debating myself regarding using time for this or not. And I do not have a clear answer. I might write another post with more details. The problem is too much information is not good for making progress.
Another thing, unrelated to this novena, or learning about Saints Lwanga and Saint Mkasa, the thought is gone for checking spelling and not writing it down. But practice. The thought came back, but I leave it like that now.
OK. Saint Charles Lwanga, Saint Mkasa, and their companions, the Martyr of Uganda, it seems that died in 1886. I will get details as I elaborate this. The dead was in Uganda. Catholic missions were established there by Cardinal Lavigerie’s White fathers in 1879.
As I will follow with the story, and as cited by [1], it is interesting to see the persecution to Christians in recent times, as if it were in the early church. Yet, a higher portion of the demographics of Catholic priests and nuns come from Africa, no as of 2026. And they rather are the ones spreading the word of the Lord through out the world. Does it applies the quote that a grain of wheat has to fall to the ground and die to bear fruit? It seems it does. Thank you Saints Lwanga, Mkasa, and all the martyrs at Uganda for standing up for the faith.
Day 2. May 27. 3:26 am Their executions happened around the year 1886, under the ruler Mwanga. Somehow some progress was made under the prior non unfriendly ruler Mtesa. Details about the execution of the catholics includes war drums for execution, Mkasa, and Lwanga who succeeded him, baptizing new christians, and details during the execution of the catholics being asked by Mwanga if they wanted to remain catholics, and they replying until death. Then Mwanga ordering then put them to death [1].
OK beyond all those details, 1886 is not that far ago. So why did not Christianity and the Catholic religion reach out central Africa?
The human story is longer than the Catholic religion (This can be fully debatable). OK. But all of us come from Africa from about 80,000 years ago or so.
Saint Lwanga intercede to the Lord to grant me wisdom to continue working fully focused on what I have to do every day.
Day 3. May 28. 1:03 am. I might need to pause this for quite a while. I might get back to write about the day, distractions, if any, hitting deadlines, sleeping schedule. Among more learnings.
The prayer and intersection to the saints is great, but there is so much I can learn everyday. I do strongly hope I do not distance myself from my daily progress in a while.
Day 4. May 29. 2:38 am. I will continue doing this. See reference [1] for details. My understanding is that three of the catholics kids were kids on the road to Namugongo, seven days before the feast of the ascension, which was on June 3, 1886. Most of the martyrs were keep in Namugongo for seven days. On ascension day, they were stripped of their clothes, wrapped in a mat of reed, and put on the pyre. This seems to have been a ritual. The writer, Butler, mention similar rituals in the times of Julius Caesar, particularly on the Emperor writing, which describe human sacrifices of Gauls, who enclosed their victims in baskets of osier before burning them. Might be Celtic druids did the same. See wicker man. But this is already plenty of information. Wikipedia seems to connect this to the current festival of Burning Man.
Day 5. May 30. 1:00 am Both Protestant and Catholics were persecuted and killed during those times. The time of Saint Charles Lwanga execution was on June 3, 1886. He quoted the African writer Tertullian (ca. 200 A.D.): “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians”. [1] Reference [1] describes how Catholics have multiplied and growth among he Baganda people. I can see with my own eyes the African presence in the Catholic Church as of 2026 (A.D.).
Day 6. May 31. 3:46 am I learned that Saint Charles Lwanga and his 21 companions, martyrs, were canonized by Papa Paolo VI on October 18, 1886.
A good idea would be to read the letter of canonization. But how much one can invest time in those activities?
Day 7. May 31. 9:58 pm. It seems that his relics, a bone, it is attached to the wood in the main altar to the Saint Charles Lwanga Shrine (Ugand Matyrs’ Shrine) at Namogongo. [4]
Day 8. June 2. 2:52 am. See website of the Uganda Martyrs Shrine: https://ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug. I loved the place. I loved it s architectural design, meaning of parts, and the story. It is designed resembling a traditional African Hut. It has 22 pillars, each pillar representing a Catholic martyr. [4] Also, the website has listed all the martyrs names.
Day 9. June 3. 2:20 am. A relic prayer I have on my computer which I might have downloaded some time ago. On page 45 it says: Ex ossibus, which is particle of bone. Ngabi clan. I am typing here things I have not typed or that i do not understand. He was born in 1865 ay Bulimu, Buganda. Patron saint of African Catholic Youth Action, Catholic youth, converts, torture victims, and of Uganda.
Saint Charles Lwanga, please pray for me.
References
[1] Thurston, Herbert S.J. and Donald Attwater. 1963 Butler’s Lives of the Saint. Complete Edition. Edited, revised and supplemented by Herbert Thurston, S.J. and Donald Attwater. PJ Kenedy & Sons. New York
[2] https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/06/03.html
[4] https://www.ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug/index.php/about/the-alta-at-the-marian-grotto/the-relics
[5] https://ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug/index.php/about/the-basilica
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