Pope Francis headed out to Uganda's
holiest shrine on Saturday 28th November 2015, paying tribute to 19th
century Ugandan Christian martyrs (saints) who were killed for their confidence
and faith in God, securing young men in the royal court from the abuse of the
king of Buganda kingdom.
Pope Francis, on his first African visit, said Mass for
countless individuals clustered on sloppy slopes surrounding the Ugandan martyrs’
shrine in Namugongo Kampala Uganda. Uganda Martyrs are a group of 23 Anglican
and 22 Catholic converts to Christianity in the historical kingdom of Buganda,
now part of Uganda, who were executed between November 1885 and January 1887.
They were killed on orders of Mwanga II, the Kabaka (King) of Buganda. and 22
Catholic proselytes where executed amid the abuses, generally by being blazed
to death, around 1884 and 1887 on the requests of King Buganda Mwanga II. 
The most popular of the Catholic proselytes was Charles
Lwanga, an official in the royal court who was responsible for the boy pages
and was killed in day light of the fact that he attempted to protect the kids
from the sexual advances of King Mwanga II and the youngest boy popularly known
as saint Kizito. After their transformation they attempted to spread the
confidence and faith to different people in order to convert them to Christianity
and stop believing in the small gods. Today in Uganda, Christians According to
the 2002 census, 85.2 percent of the population are Christians while 12.1
percent of the population adhered to Islam now make up around. Churches today run
numerous schools and hospitals around the nation.
I quote Pope Francis’ words "They did this in risky and
dangerous times,” during a Mass celebrated from the Anglican Uganda martyrs
shrine outside the outskirts of the capital city Kampala. Traditional
singing
and dancing offered route to a Western-style church choir as the pope walked to
theholy place by means of a path over the lake, which was monitored and guarded by police. The crowd was very happy and in a joyous moment, babies carried on the back of their mothers, different people from different regions of the country and from the neighboring countries like Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, vendors worked through long lines and thought out the day, selling pope’s t-shirts, clocks, watches, name it all tinted with pope’s face and famous quotes. The mass was well celebrated and with the pope’s blessings and powerful words of Christianity, as he stuck on his signature theme of concern about the poor and the need. Pope Francis urged thousands of those who turned up to care for the poor, the vulnerable, avoid unconventional sexual ways, conserve the environment and live true to the gospel of Christ. I must say Uganda has been blessed for it is the second African country pope Francis has visited after a 2 day visit from Kenya.
