Place · Pilgrimage site
Basilica of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo
The Catholic shrine at Namugongo, built where Charles Lwanga was burned on 3 June 1886; opened in 1975 and made a minor basilica in 1993. A separate Anglican shrine nearby honours the Anglican martyrs.
- Location
- Namugongo, Wakiso District, near Kampala, Uganda
- Building
- Minor basilica and martyrs’ shrine (not a cathedral)
- Tradition
- Roman Catholic
- Religious use
- In use as a Catholic shrine and parish of the Archdiocese of Kampala.
- Map Not yet on the map: the OpenStreetMap results found name a “Uganda Martyrs’ Shrine” without saying whether it is the Catholic or the Anglican shrine, so the point could not be confirmed.
Overview
Every year on 3 June, the anniversary of the burnings at Namugongo, pilgrims from Uganda and beyond gather here. The shrine honours the 22 Catholic martyrs of 1885–87; Anglican Christians who died in the same persecution are honoured at their own shrine.
History
Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.
- Documented
Namugongo was a traditional place of execution in the kingdom of Buganda. In 1886 Kabaka Mwanga II condemned Christians at his court; on 3 June 1886 Charles Lwanga was burned here alone, and the other condemned Christians were burned together the same day. The altar of the shrine stands where Lwanga died, according to the shrine’s history.
- Documented
The 22 Catholic martyrs were beatified on 6 June 1920 and canonised on 18 October 1964. In 1967 Cardinal Emmanuel Nsubuga launched the building of the present shrine; Paul VI, who visited Uganda in 1969, contributed to it. It was opened by Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli on 3 June 1975, and John Paul II declared it a minor basilica on 7 February 1993.
- Documented
The basilica’s 22 steel pillars stand for the 22 Catholic martyrs. Pope Francis prayed here on 28 November 2015 and remembered also “the Anglican martyrs”.
Sources
Source-reviewed. Checked on 29 Oct 2026 against the sources marked “Read in a build session” with a passage named: the martyrdom, the building and basilica status, and the 2015 papal visit (the shrine, New Vision, the Holy See). The Anglican shrine is mentioned but was not itself reviewed. Pilgrim numbers are not given: the sources read do not agree on a figure. This is a review of the statements named, not a verification of the whole site or of every tradition it describes.
Official source · Read in a build session
The Uganda Martyrs Basilica — Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine, Namugongo
Passage read: whole page
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r3-lwanga/07). Supports: 22 steel pillars; begun 1967 under Cardinal Nsubuga; opened by Cardinal Pignedoli on 3 June 1975; minor basilica on 7 February 1993.
Official source · Read in a build session
History of the Martyrdom — Uganda Martyrs Catholic Shrine, Namugongo
Passage read: whole page
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r3-lwanga/04). Supports the persecution of 1885–86 and the burning of Charles Lwanga and the others on 3 June 1886.
Secondary study · Read in a build session
A history of the Namugongo Martyrs Shrines — New Vision (Kampala)
Passage read: whole article
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r2-namugongo/02). A newspaper history, not scholarship. Supports: Namugongo as a place of execution; 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic martyrs; the altar on the spot of Lwanga’s death; the beatification (1920) and canonisation (1964); Nsubuga’s fundraising and Paul VI’s gift; 1975; 1993; pilgrimage on 3 June.
Official source · Read in a build session
Homily at the Catholic shrine of the Uganda Martyrs, Namugongo (28 November 2015) — Pope Francis — Holy See
Passage read: whole homily
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/p-namugongo/03). Supports the papal visit and the remembrance of the Anglican martyrs.