Killed for Being Christian: The Personal Stories of All 22 Catholic Ugandan Martyrs...

Imagine longing so deeply for the Eucharist that you would hike nearly fifty miles each way to go to Mass every Sunday, traveling through dense forests, fighting off wild animals, and crossing multiple rivers to do it.

Imagine being so eager to die for Jesus that you would actually joke with the one who was sentencing you to death.

Imagine having friends so kind and so loving that when they called you out on your sin you would leave both the women you were sleeping with and live in poverty while providing for their needs.

These are the Ugandan martyrs, the companions of St. Charles Lwanga whose stories so often get summarized with “they were killed for being Christian.” We are usually given only a vague sketch of the heroic leader Lwanga protecting young boys at court from the predations of the kabaka (king). But while that is a pretty good summary, each of these boys and men was more than a faceless member of an executed crowd; they were husbands and friends and sons with dreams and gifts and ambitions and stories that will make us long for holiness. Each individual has been raised to the altars, which is more than enough reason for us to get to know them. Their stories follow, told in the order they were killed by Kabaka Mwanga II. They are:

1. St. Joseph Mukasa Balikuddembe: the protomartyr of Uganda, a skilled wrestler and leader of the Christians who saved the kabaka's life by killing a snake with his bare hands
2. St. Denis Ssebuggwawo: a teenager who loved his friend Mwafu (who was one of the kabaka's consorts) and gently preached the Gospel to him

Continued below.