Saint Achilleus Kewanuka
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka (also spelled Achilles Kewanuka; born c. 1869; died May 26, 1886) was a young Catholic page boy in the royal court of King Mwanga II of Buganda (present-day Uganda) who was martyred at Munyonyo and Namugongo for his refusal to submit to the king's sexual demands and for his fidelity to the Catholic faith. He is one of the Uganda Martyrs — a group of twenty-two Catholic and twenty-three Anglican converts who were killed on the orders of King Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887 — and was canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964, along with his twenty-one fellow Catholic martyrs. The Uganda Martyrs are among the most celebrated saints of Africa and the patron saints of Uganda. Their feast day is June 3.
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka was approximately sixteen or seventeen years old at the time of his martyrdom, one of the youngest of the Uganda Martyrs. He died by burning at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, having been marched from the royal palace to the place of execution over several days. His story is part of the remarkable account of the rapid growth and heroic witness of Catholicism in the Kingdom of Buganda in the 1880s, in which young pages at the royal court — educated by the White Fathers (Society of Our Lady of Africa) and influenced by their faith — chose death rather than moral compromise or apostasy.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Achilleus Kewanuka
| Saint Achilleus Kewanuka | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | June 03 |
| Profession | Royal page at the court of King Mwanga II |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala |
| Patronage | Uganda; Africa; youth; Catholic Action |
| Attributes | Martyr's palm; fire (representing his death by burning); royal page's vestments |
| Birthplace | Buganda Kingdom (present-day Uganda) |
| Death Place | Namugongo, Buganda (present-day Namugongo, Wakiso District, Uganda) |
| Cause of Death | Martyrdom — burned alive on the orders of King Mwanga II for refusal to submit to sexual demands and for fidelity to the Catholic faith |
| Primary Shrine | Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, Uganda |
| Liturgical Class | Not included |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka was born around 1869 in the Kingdom of Buganda, the most powerful of the Lacustrine kingdoms of central Africa, located in what is today Uganda. He was a Baganda (Ganda) by ethnicity and language. His family background is not fully documented in available sources. He was likely born into a family of some standing, as service as a page at the royal kabaka's court in Buganda was generally reserved for boys of good family.
Early Life
Achilleus Kewanuka entered the royal court of King Mwanga II, the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, as a page boy. The court of Buganda in the 1880s was a place of intense religious competition: Protestant missionaries (of the Church Missionary Society) and Catholic missionaries (the White Fathers, founded by Cardinal Charles Lavigerie) had both established missions in the kingdom, and both had made converts among the young page boys who surrounded the king.
Achilleus received Catholic religious instruction from the White Fathers and was preparing for baptism, having been received as a catechumen. He absorbed the faith deeply. Like many of the Uganda Martyrs, he was a young man whose conversion was genuine and whose faith proved strong enough to face death.
Occupation
As a royal page, Achilleus Kewanuka served King Mwanga II at the royal palace of Munyonyo on the shores of Lake Victoria. Pages performed personal service for the king and were part of the inner circle of the Buganda court. They were also expected to be available for the king's sexual demands — a practice that was part of the court culture but that the newly converted Christian pages, instructed by both Protestant and Catholic missionaries in the Christian ethic of chastity, increasingly refused.
Vocation
King Mwanga II grew increasingly hostile toward the Christian pages as their faith deepened and their resistance to his demands grew. He saw their Christian convictions — and the influence of the missionaries who taught them — as a challenge to his royal authority. In October 1885, he had the Anglican missionary James Hannington murdered as he attempted to enter Buganda from the east, a route the king feared indicated British imperialist intentions.
The crisis came to a head in May 1886. The king's chief page, Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe (a Catholic, later beatified), was burned alive in November 1885 for rebuking the king over the murder of Hannington and for protecting Christian pages from the king's demands. In May 1886, Mwanga ordered a general persecution of the Christian pages. When the pages were asked whether they intended to continue practicing Christianity, they answered unanimously that they would not abandon their faith.
Achilleus Kewanuka, approximately sixteen or seventeen years old, was among the group condemned to death. He and his fellow martyrs were marched sixty miles from the royal palace at Munyonyo to the place of execution at Namugongo over the course of several days, during which several were killed along the way. Those who reached Namugongo were wrapped in reed mats and burned alive on a great fire on June 3, 1886 — the feast of the Ascension in that year.
Death
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka was burned alive at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, along with twelve other Catholic martyrs and nine Anglican martyrs. He was approximately sixteen or seventeen years old. He died singing hymns and praying, together with his companions, having refused both to renounce his faith and to submit to the king's demands.
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka met his end in the flames at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, dying as a martyr for the Catholic faith at an age of approximately sixteen or seventeen years.
Significant events
- Born c. 1869 in the Kingdom of Buganda (present-day Uganda).
- Entered the royal court of King Mwanga II as a page boy.
- Received Catholic instruction from the White Fathers and became a catechumen.
- Refused to comply with the sexual demands of the king, in accordance with his Christian faith.
- Arrested with other Christian pages in May 1886 when King Mwanga ordered their persecution.
- Marched sixty miles from Munyonyo to Namugongo.
- Burned alive at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, with twelve Catholic and nine Anglican martyrs.
- Beatified by Pope Benedict XV on June 2, 1920, as part of the group of the Uganda Martyrs.
- Canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964, along with the other twenty-one Catholic Uganda Martyrs.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Buganda Kingdom (present-day Uganda)
Death location: Namugongo, Buganda (present-day Namugongo, Wakiso District, Uganda)
Notable location: Site of his martyrdom and principal shrine of the Uganda Martyrs (Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, Wakiso District, Uganda)
Notable location: Site of the royal court of King Mwanga II where the pages served (Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda)
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Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Saint Achilleus Kewanuka have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
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No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
List of shrines
Namugongo Martyrs Shrine, Namugongo, Uganda
The Namugongo Martyrs Shrine is the principal shrine of the Uganda Martyrs and the site of the martyrdom of Achilleus Kewanuka and his companions on June 3, 1886. The shrine comprises two adjacent churches — the Catholic Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs (consecrated 1975) and the Anglican Uganda Martyrs' Church — on the hill at Namugongo where the martyrs were burned alive. The Catholic basilica is designed in the shape of a traditional Buganda royal hut, built of concrete and capable of holding many thousands of worshippers. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Africa, drawing over a million pilgrims each year for the June 3 feast of the Uganda Martyrs.
- Location: Namugongo, Wakiso District, Uganda (approximately 12 km northeast of Kampala)
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Kampala
- Feast day celebrated: June 3 (Uganda Martyrs)
- Notable features: Catholic basilica (1975) in the shape of a traditional Buganda hut; Anglican martyrs' church; pilgrimage site attracting over 1 million visitors annually; site of the 1886 martyrdom
Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine, Kampala, Uganda
Munyonyo Martyrs Shrine marks the site of the royal court of King Mwanga II where the Uganda Martyrs served as pages and from which they were marched to their deaths. A shrine and retreat center have been established here, commemorating the beginning of the martyrs' final journey.
- Location: Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda
- Diocese: Archdiocese of Kampala
- Notable features: Site of the royal palace; starting point of the martyrs' march to Namugongo
Canonization
Servant of God
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka's cause for canonization began as part of the group cause of the Uganda Martyrs.
Venerable
Not applicable (group process).
Beatification
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka was beatified by Pope Benedict XV on June 2, 1920, along with the other twenty-one Catholic Uganda Martyrs.
Canonization
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka was canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964, in St. Peter's Square, Rome, as one of the twenty-two Catholic Uganda Martyrs. This was the first canonization of sub-Saharan African martyrs in Church history and one of the largest group canonizations of the twentieth century. Pope Paul VI called the Uganda Martyrs "the first fruits of Africa."
Miracles
No individual miracle has been formally attributed specifically to Saint Achilleus Kewanuka. The group canonization of the Uganda Martyrs in 1964 was based on the broader evidence of martyrdom and the miracles attributed to the Uganda Martyrs collectively.
Miracle for beatification
Miracles were attributed to the intercession of the Uganda Martyrs collectively for their beatification in 1920.
Miracle for canonization
Miracles were attributed to the intercession of the Uganda Martyrs collectively for their canonization in 1964.
Other notable miracles
- Numerous healings and conversions have been reported at the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine over the decades since the martyrdom.
Patronage
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka, together with the other Uganda Martyrs, is venerated as a patron of Uganda, of sub-Saharan Africa, and of youth. The Uganda Martyrs are also considered patrons of Catholic Action and of those who suffer for moral integrity.
Feast day
June 3 (with all Uganda Martyrs)
Veneration
Saint Achilleus Kewanuka is venerated together with the twenty-one other Catholic Uganda Martyrs throughout the Catholic Church, with particular devotion in Uganda and across Africa, where he is one of the patron saints. The June 3 feast of the Uganda Martyrs draws over a million pilgrims to the Namugongo Martyrs Shrine each year, making it one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the Catholic world. Pope Francis visited Namugongo on November 28, 2015, during his apostolic journey to Africa. The Uganda Martyrs have become a symbol of the vitality of African Catholicism and the courage of young Christians.
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.
Books
Written about the saint
- Faupel, J. F. African Holocaust: The Story of the Uganda Martyrs. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1962.
- Luck, Anne. African Saint: The Story of Apolo Kivebulaya. London: SCM Press, 1963.
- Waliggo, John Mary. A History of African Priests. Kisubi: Marianum Press, 1988.
- Thoonen, J. P. Black Martyrs. London: Sheed & Ward, 1941.
Written by the saint
- No writings by Saint Achilleus Kewanuka have been identified. He was approximately sixteen years old at the time of his death.
External links
- Catholic Saints Info — search for Achilleus Kewanuka
- Catholic Online — search for Achilleus Kewanuka
References
- Faupel, J. F. African Holocaust: The Story of the Uganda Martyrs. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1962.
- Thoonen, J. P. Black Martyrs. London: Sheed & Ward, 1941.
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1964. Canonical documentation of the canonization.
- Roman Martyrology (Martyrologium Romanum). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004.