The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda and his Roman Catholic counterpart broke ground for an ecumenical museum honoring the Martyrs of Uganda.
The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali with his Roman Catholic counterpart the Most Rev. Cyprian Lwanga, Archbishop of Kampala, on 28 May 2014 broke ground for an ecumenical museum honoring the Martyrs of Uganda. Celebrated in Uganda each June 3rd, Martyrs Day recounts the martyrdom of 23 Anglican and 22 Catholic converts between November 1885 and January 1887 by Mwanga II, the King of Buganda. In 1964 Pope Paul VI canonized the Catholic martyrs while the story of the faith of Anglican martyrs has played a central role in the identity of the Church of Uganda. Anglican and a Roman Catholic shrines have long stood in Namugongo, but the building of a joint museum marks a significant ecumenical turn for the country’s two dominant churches. In services marking the event, Archbishop Ntagali was invited to lead worship at the Catholic shrine, while Archbishop Lwanga led services at the Anglican church. Speaking to reporters Archbishop Ntagali said the “martyrs are our symbol of faith. They made Uganda proud by sacrificing their lives for what they believed in,” adding that “as Christians, we should emulate them, and love God, and preach love, hate hatred, jealousy and other habits that make us unclean in the eyes of God.”