Today, June 3, as our Church commemorates the Memorial of Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs, we first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Revelation (7:9-17) entitled "A vision of great multitude of the elect". Our treasure, which follows, is from the homily at the canonization of the martyrs of Uganda by Pope Paul VI.
Owing to religious hatred, many faithful Christians were killed in Uganda by king Mwanga during the year 1885–87. Some of them had enjoyed the good graces of the king at his court, and some were even related to him.
Today, together with the whole Church, we honor twenty-two Ugandan martyrs. They are the first martyrs of Sub-Saharan Africa and true witnesses of the Christian faith. Charles Langa, a catechist and a young leader, and his twenty-one companions, adhering steadfastly to the Catholic faith, were put to death in 1886 with a group of Catholic and Anglican royal pages, some by sword, others by burning, because they would not accede to the king's unreasonable demands. King Mwanga, who despised the Christian religion, gave orders that all the Christian pages in his service be laid upon a mat, bound, placed onto a pyre and burnt. This took place at Namugongo, just outside Kampala.
Known for his diplomatic leadership during a time of major transition for the Church, Pope Paul VI reigned from 1963 to 1978. Throughout his time in office, Pope Paul VI worked to enact the decisions made during Vatican II, ensuring the Church continued to be effective in a changing world. Born on September 26, 1897, in Concescio, Italy, Giovanni Battista Montini was raised in a middle-class family of five. Although Giovanni's father was a lawyer and journalist, Giovanni suffered from ill health growing up and was educated at home for much of his youth. After completing his initial studies at a school in Brescia, he was ordained at the age of 23 and sent by the bishop to Rome for further studies in literature, philosophy, and canon law.
Upon completion of his graduate studies, he became part of the Vatican Secretariat of State. Giovanni worked there for 30 years, using his position to support Jews and refugees during World War II, as well as serving as chaplain to the Federation of Italian Catholic University students. He worked as papal undersecretary of state and became acting secretary for ordinary (nondiplomatic) affairs in 1944, and 10 years later was appointed archbishop of Milan. During his time as archbishop, Giovanni made it a personal mission to visit factories and reach out to laborers who had grown indifferent in their faith, calling himself "archbishop of the workers". Four years later, Pope John XXII made him a cardinal, and he served in that role until he was elected pope on June 21, 1963, when he took the name Paul VI. After just over 15 years in office, Pope Paul VI passed away at Castel Gandolfo on August 6, 1978. He was beatified on October 19, 2014, and canonized on October 14, 2018. He left behind a legacy of ecumenicism and caring for workers and the poor.
The Apocalypse, or Revelation to John, the last book of the Bible, is one of the most difficult to understand because it abounds in unfamiliar and extravagant symbolism, which at best appears unusual to the modern reader. Symbolic language, however, is one of the chief characteristics of apocalyptic literature, of which this book is an outstanding example. Such literature enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles from ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 200.
This book contains an account of visions in symbolic and allegorical language borrowed extensively from the Old Testament, especially Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. Whether or not these visions were real experiences of the author or simply literary conventions employed by him is an open question.
