Namugongo Martyrs' Shrine (Shrine of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions)
A shrine associated with St. Charles Lwanga and Companions.
St. Charles Lwanga and Companions → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs at Namugongo, northeast of Kampala, rises over the execution ground where St. Charles Lwanga was burned to death on June 3, 1886, chief among the young Ugandan converts who died for the faith between 1885 and 1887. The martyrs were pages and officials at the court of Kabaka Mwanga II of Buganda, converts instructed by the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) only a few years after Christianity reached the kingdom. Ordered to renounce their new faith, they refused. Twenty-two Catholics, together with Anglican companions who died alongside them, were speared, beheaded, or burned - most of them at Namugongo, where Charles Lwanga encouraged the youngest to remain steadfast even as the fires were lit. Witnesses recorded that the young men died praying, some invoking the name of Jesus until the end. The Catholic martyrs were beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope St. Paul VI on October 18, 1964, during the Second Vatican Council - the first canonized martyrs of modern sub-Saharan Africa. Paul VI venerated the site during his 1969 visit to Uganda, the first papal journey to Africa, and the striking conical basilica, evoking a traditional Baganda dwelling with the altar over the place of Lwanga's death, was consecrated in 1975. St. John Paul II prayed here in 1993, and Pope Francis in 2015. Each year on June 3, Uganda Martyrs Day, millions of pilgrims converge on Namugongo, many having walked for days or weeks from across Uganda and neighboring countries, making it one of the largest annual Christian pilgrimages in the world. The martyrs' witness - 'You can burn our bodies, but you cannot harm our souls,' as their story is remembered - remains the foundation stone of the Church in East Africa.
Church Recognition
The twenty-two Catholic Uganda Martyrs were canonized by Pope St. Paul VI in 1964, and the shrine church at Namugongo, consecrated in 1975, is a minor basilica of the Archdiocese of Kampala honored by the visits of three popes.
Catholic Teaching
The Uganda Martyrs bear supreme witness to the faith (CCC 2473) and show the Gospel taking root in every culture: young African converts, catechized only briefly, chose Christ over life itself, becoming the seed of one of the world's most vibrant local churches.
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims visit the basilica built over the site of St. Charles Lwanga's martyrdom, the lake and pavilion where great open-air liturgies are held, and the nearby Anglican martyrs' shrine; the pilgrimage culminates every June 3 on Uganda Martyrs Day, when millions gather, many arriving on foot.
Go Deeper
The shrine's official website (https://www.ugandamartyrsshrine.org.ug) offers history and pilgrimage details; see also Paul VI's canonization homily of October 18, 1964, the Catechism on martyrdom (CCC 2473), and J.F. Faupel's African Holocaust, the standard history of the Uganda Martyrs.
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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