A history of the Namugongo Martyrs Shrines

However, back in the day, Namugongo was known as a place of death. Gazetted in 1760 by the 25th Kabaka of Buganda, Kabaka Kyabaggu, as an execution venue, it was where notable enemies of the kingdom such as princes, princesses, chiefs and pages whom he considered a threat to his throne, met their end.

In his account of Faith in Uganda, Fr. Joseph Ddiba says one of the known executions in Namugongo took place in 1877 when Mutesa I ordered the killing of 70 men for disobeying him. Eight years later, his son, Mwanga, threatened the new Christian believers in his kingdom to renounce their faith or be dispatched to their deaths in Namugongo.

Namugongo is located in Kyaliwajjala, Kira Municipality in Wakiso district, approximately 16km from Kampala. Every year on June 3, pilgrims from all over the world gather at the shrine to commemorate the day when young palace pages were burnt to death on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga for refusing to renounce Christianity.

A total of 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic Christian martyrs were executed between November 1885 and January 1887. Twelve of the 22 Catholic martyrs were burnt to death at Namugongo. Other martyrs were hacked to pieces while others such as Gonzaga Gonza, were speared to death.

The 22 Catholic martyrs were beatified by Pope Benedict XV on June 6, 1920 and canonised by Pope Paul VI on October 18, 1964. They are regarded as saints in the Catholic Church.

At the place where the Catholic shrine stands today, only Charles Lwanga, the leader of the Catholic martyrs, was martyred. 

He was burnt to death in a slow fire under a Ggirikiti tree (Erhrina Abyssinica). He died on Thursday June 3, 1886 (which was the Ascension Day). He was about 25. The altar at the shrine was built on the spot where St. Charles Lwanga was burnt.

According to the Catholic Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, Namugongo Parish started as a sub-parish of Nsambya with its grass-thatched church at Kyaliwajjala, where Vienna Academy currently stands. 

Later in 1935, a young Dutch Mill-Hill priest, Fr. Stephen Walters, bought eight acres where the shrine now stands and started advocating a parish at the spot where St. Charles Lwanga was killed. The first Parish Priest was Fr. Peter Van Rooyen while Msgr Lawrence Mbwega was the first Ugandan Parish Priest.

In 1967, Emmanuel Cardinal Nsubuga, then Archbishop of newly-created Kampala archdiocese, decided to build a befitting martyrs' monument at the site. According to one researcher, he was opposed by some sections of the church who considered it interference in the Mill Hill missionaries' initiative. But Nsubuga's will prevailed and his fundraising began in earnest.

According to Msgr Charles Kimbowa in a past interview, the design of the shrine was Nsubuga's brain-child. Kimbowa, a former private secretary of Nsubuga, said the archbishop spared no sweat in fundraising locally and internationally for the project.

Kimbowa recalled the Holy Saturday of March 26, 1967 when Nsubuga launched the fundraising at Lubaga Cathedral. He had a raffia-bag (ekikapu) he had got from Naggalama Parish during a pastoral visit and that day, he collected sh8,857 (a lot of money then) for the start.

The next morning, Kimbowa said, Nsubuga, accompanied by Fr. Stephen Mukasa and Pere Y. Tourigny, left for Rome and the US. In Rome, he had audience with Pope Paul VI and presented his kikapu asking him to bless it. He explained its purpose and discussed the Uganda Martyrs project. Pope Paul VI contributed sh140,000 (a lot of money in 1969). 

Speechless Nsubuga, in appreciation, invited him to come and lay the foundation stone. When he accepted, to visit Uganda later that year, it was unbelievable for the Pope to visit Africa considering the logistical challenges and the prevailing perceptions about Africa. When the Pope arrived, Uganda became the first African country to host a Pope.

Dr Danhinden was the architect of the Namugongo Martyrs shrine. He designed it to look like an African hut, wrapped around 22 copper pillars signifying the 22 Martyrs and a white cap on top. The circular interior was to have up to 1,000 seats.

Construction began in 1967. It was Roko Construction Company's first major project in Uganda. The shrine was completed eight years later and officially opened by His Eminence Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli on June 3, 1975. Thousands of pilgrims, including President Idi Amin, attended the ceremony.

Eighteen years later, on February 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage and officially declared it a minor Basilica, which Rome bestows upon certain churches following a major spiritual event.

The shrine is surrounded by a healthy green compound with thriving trees and a walkway that leads to a man-made pond that once, according to historical accounts, served as a cleansing ground for executioners. 

Mbwenga, in his writing, said the lake used to be a little stream going through a swamp from where they used to grow yams, cabbages and sugarcane. It was Mbwenga who developed the idea of opening up a place with a larger water basin. He started piling up mud at one place as he expanded the pond from which he grew fish. He wrote that he proposed to Nsubuga an idea of placing an altar on the mud in the 1950s from which pilgrims would see the priest as he conducted mass from all corners.

Nsubuga, who was going to host Pope Paul VI in 1969, loved the idea and brought graders to expand the water basin. Mud was piled in one place which was elevated to become the altar it is today.

When Pope John Paul II came to Uganda in 1993, Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala asked the then chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese, Fr Kizito Lwanga, to expand and beautify the lake further, giving it a stone fence and more shelters for the pilgrims. 

A round concrete plinth was constructed inside the pond to host the altar and on it, a grass-thatched pavilion, also in circular form like the shrine, was built to accommodate more than 300 people.

Many pilgrims have often drawn water from this lake and later given testimonies about its healing powers.

On November 28, 2015, Pope Francis said his pontificate Mass at Namugongo, becoming the third Pope to visit the shrine.

The first to visit was Pope Paul VI whose pontificate mass was on August 2, 1969. He consecrated the altar which was built at the spot at the spot where St. Kalooli-Lwanga was killed.

On February 7, 1993, Pope John Paul II said his Pontifical mass at Namugongo when he officially declared the shrine a minor Basilica.

In 2015, the site was redeveloped it into a modern user-friendly, international standard pilgrimage site.

The sh44b project included three modern VIP pavilions, to enable Christians from all corners to see the main celebrant at the altar. A new pilgrimage route was created and named Martyrs Way. 

It snakes down the right of the mini-basilica, via Martyrs grottos, drawing a stone paved ring around the amphitheatre, altar and the three pavilions.

The lake trough was reconstructed, the dirty water being drained and fresh spring water allowed to flow, with a perimeter wall constructed to restrain people from contaminating it. A purifier was installed to clean the water for pilgrims who want to drink or carry it home through several collection taps.  

A concrete red marble altar was built, held by adjoining bridges in forms of the cross over the pond water.