Catholic Church in Uganda
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The Catholic Church in Uganda is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
According to the 2014 census, there were an estimated 13,407,764 Catholics in the country, comprising around 39.3% of the total population.[1][2]
Dioceses of Uganda
[edit]Catholicism in Uganda Pre-Independence
[edit]The first Europeans arrived in Uganda in 1862, when John Speke traversed the region in a search for the source of the Nile. European arrivals increased in the following years, and the White Fathers became the country's first Catholic missionaries in 1879. Their evangelization was effective, and the baptized population increased to 8,500 by 1888. The conversion of natives was met with hostility by Kabaka Mwanga II, King of Buganda, who saw the Christian religion as jeopardizing his authority. Catholic converts and those affiliated with the White Fathers were often arrested and put to death for their beliefs, their remains strewed across the land as a warning to anyone considering conversion. This persecution and violence climaxed in the killing of the Uganda Martyrs, when 22 Catholic converts were burned alive at Namugongo. Persecution directed toward the region's Christians slowed the arrival of missionaries during this time, and many left out of fear.[3] However, Uganda was annexed by the British in 1890, which allowed for more Christian influence in the country. The Mill Hill Missionaries and Verona Fathers were the most prominent Catholic missionaries in the territory during the following years. Mill Hill Missionaries mainly evangelized in Eastern Uganda, while the Verona Fathers converted people in the North. Efforts to convert the indigenous population were successful, and the population of all Catholics in the country grew to 86,000 by the year 1905, and 370,000 in 1923, representing roughly 12.4% of the population.[4][5] Uganda's first native Bishop, Joseph Kiwanuka, was consecrated in 1939, where he served as Apostolic Vicar of Masaka.[6]
The Catholic Church celebrates on June 3 the feast of the Uganda Martyrs — Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions — who were killed by King Mwanga II between 1885 and 1887.[7]
2020s
[edit]In 2020, there were over 2,500 priests and over 4,000 nuns serving across 654 parishes; the church also ran 49 hospitals and homes for the old and infirm.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Africa: Uganda - The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ "2014 Uganda Population and Housing Census - Main Report" (PDF). Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Rowe, J. A. (1964). "The Purge of Christians at Mwanga's Court: A Reassessment of This Episode in Buganda History". The Journal of African History. 5 (1): 55–72. doi:10.1017/S0021853700004503. JSTOR 179768. S2CID 163027473.
- ^ Encyclopedia.com website.
- ^ "Population of Uganda 1800-2020".
- ^ "The Brilliant Career of Joseph Kiwanuka | Christian History Magazine".
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ Catholics and Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08