Today, June 3, is the memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companion-Martyrs of Uganda.
Charles Lwanga, born in 1860, was the chief of the royal pages or attendants and was considered the strongest athlete of the court and the most handsome man of Uganda.
He instructed his friends in the Catholic faith and he personally baptized young male servants. He even encouraged them to remain pure and faithful. He acted as the big brother of his fellow servants, shielding them from the immoral acts and homosexual demands of the Babandan ruler, King Mwanga.
King Mwanga despised the Christian religion because he saw it as a threat to his authority. When the king desired to have sex with Charles, the latter refused. This made the king very angry. Mwanga ordered that all his Christian servants should be burned alive. Some of them were killed in various horrifying methods.
When Charles was sentenced to be burned to death in 1886, he was calm and cheerful.
The pyre was being prepared. Then he asked to be untied so that he could arrange the sticks. He then laid down upon them. When the executioner said that Charles would be burned slowly to death, Charles replied that he was so happy to die for Jesus Christ.
While he was slowly burning to death, Charles told his executioner, “It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me.” The young martyr made no cry of pain but just twisted and moaned, “Kotanda! (O my God!)”
Charles and his companions were beatified in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. They were canonized in 1964 by Pope St. Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council.