By Fr. Richard Nyombi, M.Afr
When Charles Lavigerie looked at Algeria in 1867, he saw more than a North African territory. He saw a gateway, a place from which the light of the Gospel would one day spread across the vast lands south of the Sahara. That dream would eventually reach Uganda and produce one of the most remarkable stories of faith in the history of Christianity: the story of the Ugandan Martyrs.
Charles Cardinal Lavigerie, Founder of the Missionaries of Africa
Born on 31 October 1825 in Bayonne, southern France, near the border with Spain, Lavigerie was the eldest of four children; three boys and one girl. He was ordained priest in Paris on the 2nd of June 1849 and served as professor of Church History in Sorbonne University in Paris; auditor to the Tribunal of the ROTA in the Vatican (1861-1863); bishop of Nancy in Northeastern France (1863-1867); Archbishop of Algiers (1967-1892).
He was created Cardinal in 1882 by Pope Leon XIII and two years later in November 1884 he was elected Archbishop of Carthage and Primate of Africa while still serving as Archbishop of Algiers. The same Pope entrusted him the mission to spearhead a major European anti-slavery campaign to eradicate the brutal East African and trans-Saharan slave trades (1888-1889). He died in Algiers on the 26th of November 1892 at the age of 67 years. His episcopal motto was “CARITAS” (Charity) with the emblem (logo) of a “MOTHER PELICAN” feeding its young ones on its blood, a symbol of Christ, the Eucharist and Christian Charity.
Foundation of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa in Algeria
Even before leaving France for Algiers, Lavigerie envisioned Algeria as a big ‘gateway’ through which Africa, South of Sahara was going to be evangelised. He was going to make Algeria the cradle of a great and generous Christian nation which in turn would carry the Light of the Gospel beyond the Sahara Desert into Central Africa.
In less than one year and half after his arrival in Algiers (May 1867), he founded the Society of the Missionaries of Africa (October 1868). A year later, in September 1869, he founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA).
Ten years after the foundation of the M.Afr, he sent the first team of ten missionaries to Equatorial Africa, five for the Nyanza Region (around Lake Victoria Uganda included) and five for the region around Lake Tanganyika. They left Algiers in April 1878, via Marseilles, Zanzibar and Bagamoyo and when they arrived at Tabora the two groups separated. Those coming to Uganda took the direction of Mwanza and from there they came to Lubaga, the capital of Buganda Kingdom, by canoes on Lake Nalubaale (Victoria).
The 1st Catholic Missionaries to arrive in Uganda
The first to arrive were Fr. Simeon Lourdel, affectionately known as Pere Mapeera, and Bro. Amans Delmas in February 1879. They were followed in June by Frs. Leon Livinhac, Leon Barbot, and Ludovic Girault. These five men became the first Catholic missionaries in Uganda. Twenty years later, in October 1899, six members of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA) arrived in Uganda, becoming the first religious women in the country.
Evangelisation from the City (Kibuga) and with the Elite
The missionaries would have preferred to settle in rural areas, away from the royal palace and the bustle of the capital. However, King Muteesa I had different plans. He insisted that they establish themselves near his palace at Lubaga. As a result, Christianity in Uganda began in the palace and at the centre of the kingdom (Kibuga or city) and among the elite.
The first public proclamation of the Gospel took place in the (Twekobe), the audience hall inside the palace. Like the Areopagus mentioned in Acts 17:16–34, it became a place of encounter and dialogue. The listeners included the king, his entourage, chiefs and notables (Abaami n’Abakungu), royal pages (Abagalagala), and many other influential figures. This proved providential because it was much easier for the converted elite to influence and convert the common ordinary people than it would have been the other way round. Likewise, the persecutions and killings of the Abasomi (Those who pray or Christians) might never have taken place had Christianity begun in remote villages far from the king and the capital. Indeed, as the prophet Isaiah tells us, God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9).
Lavigerie instructs the missionaries to prepare Africans to be apostles to their fellow Africans
“Prepare Africans to be Apostles to their fellow Africans. You are initiators; the lasting work will be done by the Africans themselves.” (Directives to the Missionaries of the first Caravan 1878)
Following this instruction, the missionaries successfully prepared the local agents of evangelisation including mainly the catechists, local clergy and indigenous religious men and women. Some of the martyrs pioneered the work of the catechists, for example: Balikuddembe, Kaggwa, Mulumba and Muzeeyi.
The Missionaries of Africa and the Ugandan Martyrs
The Ugandan Martyrs were among the first generation of the Ugandan Catholics evangelised by the pioneer missionaries. In less than seven years and out of these only four years with the presence of the missionaries, these neophytes and catechumens were able to shed their blood because of their faith. Indeed, this was the work of the Spirit and Grace of God! But, it was also the work of the Blessed Virgin Mary whom the pioneer missionaries, right from the beginning of their mission, declared to be the Protagonist Evangeliser of this country: “We swear that the Blessed Virgin Mary will be our teacher and superior, so that by her, through her and with her, we may understand and fulfil the will of her Divine Son, for whose Glory, we would like to wholly sacrifice ourselves. We declare that whatever good will be done here, it will be Mary who will have done it and therefore all glory will be given to her.” (Nabulagala, 2nd July 1879) We should never forget this!
The Missionaries of Africa are proud of the Ugandan Martyrs. Their victory and glory is also ours because divine Providence chose to use our Society to bring forth in the Faith the souls of these Martyrs. However, we also take seriously Pope Francis’ warning: “Past glories were a beginning, but you are called to create future glories. This is what the Church asks of you. Be witnesses like
the martyrs, who gave their lives for the Gospel.” (Lubaga Cathedral, 28th November 2015) Our Predecessors, Pere Mapeera and Companions, bore the pains of birth of those martyrs; it is our turn to bear the pains of birth of the martyrs of today and tomorrow!
“Ne gw’ozaala akukubira eηηoma n’ozina.” (Even your child can beat the drum for you to dance). Few months after the killings of the Ugandan Martyrs, Cardinal Lavigerie exhorted his missionaries “to admire and imitate their courage”. (Circular Letter, Algiers, 19 March 1887) So, these martyrs, though they are our spiritual sons, they are our models in following Christ. In them, we are invited to trust that the Spirit and Grace of God that operated in them can do the same wonders in us today.
At the occasion of their beatification, the Superior General, Msgr Leon Livinhac who taught the martyrs catechism and administered the sacrament of Confirmation to a number of them, wrote a circular letter to the Society in which he said that:
“The beatification of the Uganda Martyrs will herald a notable spiritual renewal in the supernatural life of our Society; the beginning, so to speak, of a new era of piety, zeal, generosity and regularity, remarkable, therefore, for saintly labours which will give great glory to God and bring Him thousands of souls.” (Algiers 6th March 1920)
The elevation of the Ugandan Martyrs to the levels of the Blessed and the Saints in 1964, were crucial moments heralding a new era for the Society and its members; an era of spiritual and apostolic renewal. Those two ‘kairos moments’ were not limited in space and time; they are on-going. In other words, these Martyrs are a continuous call to us to work tirelessly on that spiritual and apostolic renewal.
Today, the Missionaries of Africa who are also known as the white father continue their mission of evangelization and pastoral ministry, promoting peace and reconciliation, supporting education and healthcare, and accompanying people who are poor or marginalized. The congregation is increasingly made up of African members, showing the growth of the Church in Africa and the continuing commitment to missionary service across cultures and nations.
