St. Denis Ssebuggwawo
Denis answered truthfully when asked whether he taught the Christian faith, and died at Munyonyo.
The Life and Witness of Denis Ssebuggwawo.
A small chapel at Munyonyo honors Denis Ssebuggwawo. He was still a boy at court when his instruction of two fellow pages brought him before the king.
The Catholic record places Denis among the royal pages of Buganda. Benedict XV's earlier account says he was baptized in November 1885. Paul VI's decree remembers his innocence and gentleness, and says the king confronted him about teaching two courtiers the elements of Christianity.
Denis answered yes. Mwanga wounded him with a spear and ordered his execution. He died at Munyonyo on May 26, 1886. Sources give his age as about fifteen or sixteen; we should keep that approximation rather than assign him a precise birthday.
The shrine's chapel marks the place associated with his death, about a short walk from the basilica. Denis's witness belongs beside Andrew Kaggwa's adult catechesis and Charles Lwanga's leadership, but it is not swallowed by theirs. The faith he passed to two others had already become his own.
Denis gave what he had learned to others and told the truth when it placed his life in danger.
A life, in years and approximate ages.
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c. 1870–1871BirthBorn in BugandaPapal accounts differ between fifteen and sixteen years at death.
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November 17, 1885About 14 or 15Receives baptismBenedict XV's account gives this date.
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Before May 1886About 15 or 16Teaches fellow pagesDenis instructs two other courtiers in the Christian faith.
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May 26, 1886About 15 or 16Killed at MunyonyoHe tells the king he has taught others and is put to death.
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1964After deathCanonized with the Uganda MartyrsPaul VI canonizes Denis among the twenty-two Catholic martyrs.
Dates are approximate where the surviving record is traditional or incomplete.
2 places where this witness remains visible.
Uganda Martyrs Basilica and Denis chapel, Munyonyo
The shrine identifies the Denis chapel with the place where he was speared and killed.
Uganda Martyrs Basilica, Namugongo
The national pilgrimage honors Denis with the martyrs, although he died at Munyonyo.
Follow Saint Denis Ssebuggwawo in place
Visit the Denis chapel at Munyonyo and continue to the basilica for Mass when available.
The chapel identifies the death site within Munyonyo's wider martyr landscape.
The shrine identifies the Denis chapel with the place where he was speared and killed.
Burial and relic tradition.
The Munyonyo shrine marks the spot associated with Denis's death with a chapel. The consulted sources do not establish a public tomb or bodily relic at that chapel.
The burial or relic tradition is not securely identified.
Saints Connected to Denis Ssebuggwawo
Kept on June 3.
Denis is commemorated with the Uganda Martyrs on June 3; May 26 is the date of his death.
Visit the Denis chapel at Munyonyo and continue to the basilica for Mass when available.
Photo credits
- Uganda Martyrs Basilica and Denis chapel, Munyonyo. Wulman83 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source. CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Uganda Martyrs Basilica, Namugongo. Tusk media / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Source. CC BY-SA 4.0.