St. Charles Lwanga SCC

About St. Charles Lwanga and Companions

St. Charles Lwanga is one of 22 Ugandan martyrs. He protected his fellow pages, aged 13 to 30, from the sexual demands of the Bagandan ruler, Mwanga, and encouraged and instructed them in the Catholic faith during their imprisonment for refusing the ruler’s demands.

Charles first learned of Christ’s teachings from two retainers in the court of Chief Mawulugungu. While a catechumen, he entered the royal household as assistant to Joseph Mukaso, head of the court pages.

On the night of Mukaso’s martyrdom for encouraging the African youths to resist Mwanga, Charles requested and received baptism. Imprisoned with his friends, Charles’ courage and belief in God inspired them to remain chaste and faithful.

For his own unwillingness to submit to the immoral acts and his efforts to safeguard the faith of his friends, Charles was burned to death at Namugongo on June 3, 1886, by Mwanga’s order.

When Pope Paul VI canonized these 22 martyrs on October 18, 1964, he also made reference to the Anglican pages martyred for the same reason. St. Charles Lwanga is the patron of youth and Catholic action in most of tropical Africa.

MODERATOR

Evans Rotich

Jumuiya Inception Story

St. Charles Lwanga SCC is one of the Small Christian
Communities of St. John The Baptist Catholic Church
Katua; the outstation of St. Monica Catholic Church,
Njiru Parish.

St. Charles Lwanga SCC was founded on 19th June 2022
after the Parish Priest advised that large Jumuiyas be
split to form new Jumuiyas. As such, St. Mary Magdalene Jumuiya was split to form two new Jumuiyas; St. Charles Lwanga and St. Anthony of Padua. In the process some members of St. Mary Magdalene were moved to St. Mary Cleophas which had also been split into two.

Jumuiya membership

St. Charles Lwanga SCC is made up of 11 families living within Corradin Palace. The members are neighbours who live between 3rd and 4th Avenues in the estate. Currently we have 8 youths and 18 children. The Jumuiya members support each other, pray and worship together with love, care and understanding.

Spiritual growth

St. Charles Lwanga SCC is blessed with Christians who partake in most of the sacraments of the church. Currently, 6 couples have received the sacrament of Holy matrimony while the rest are working towards solemnizing their marriages too in church.

All the children in the SCC are baptized and 12 of them are receiving the Holy communion. Most of the children have also enrolled for the sacrament of confirmation.

Jumuiya leadership

The current Jumuiya leadership is as follows:

Moderator: Evans Rotich

Vice Moderator: Rose Muiya

Secretary: Carolyne Lwangasi

Vice Secretary: Scolla Njambi

Treasurer: Pascaline Mwaniki

Other leaders

  1. Sylvans Okeyo: CMA Vice Secretary
  2. Carolyne Mulaa- Liturgy
  3. Isack Mwaniki and Boniface Muisyo- Choir coordinators
  4. Rose Muia – Church Lector

Jumuiya prayer requests

  1. To have more couples receive the sacrament of the Holy matrimony.
  2. To engage in more activities that build our Christian faith.
  3. To support each other spiritually and initiate joint income generating activities.

History of the Patron Saint

Father, you have made the blood of the martyrs the seed of Christians. May the witness of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions and their loyalty to Christ in the face of torture inspire countless men and women to live in the Christian faith, through Christ our Lord, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever, Amen.

Jumuiya activities

The Jumuiya has programs running throughout the year as required by the church. The Jumuiya holds weekly prayer meetings on Tuesday’s at 7:00pm at the homes of the members on rotational basis.