Saint Mbaaga TUZINDE

Saint Mbaaga TUZINDE

Nom: TUZINDE

Prénom: Mbaaga

Pays: Ouganda

Naissance:

Mort: 03.06.1886 à Namagongo

Etat: Laïc - Martyr du Groupe des 22 martyrs de l’Ouganda 2

Note: Page du roi, il était le fils adoptif du bourreau principal. Il mourut sur le bûcher.

Béatification: 06.06.1920 à Rome par Benoît XV

Canonisation: 18.10.1964 à Rome par Paul VI

Fête: 3 juin

Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano:

Réf. dans la Documentation Catholique: 1964 col.1345-1352

Tuzinde was a Muganda of the Colubus monkey (Nkima) clan, his father was Katamiiza Mukaajanga, the chief executioner of the lung fish clan was his uncle by pact. Tuzinde’s mother was Bakuwamumanyi of the Yam fruit (kkobe) clan.

Tuzinde was born about 1869 at Luyonga (Lumuli) village near Naddangira parish in Busiro County. He grew up with his parents, but at the age of 14 Tuzinde was taken to his uncle Mukaajanga who selected him to go to the palace to serve King Mwanga as a page.

At the palace Tuzinde served as a page in the audience hall in charge of the food for the visitors.

One day in a joking way some friends demanded for meat from him and he answered “Mbaaga?” (am I slaughtering). Hence he was nicknamed Mbaaga.

Mbaaga soon became interested in the Catholic faith due to the good examples of the Catholic pages. He was instructed by his leader Charles Lwanga.

When the Christian persecution broke out, Mbaaga played a very heroic part in defense of his vocation against hid uncle Mukaajanga right from the beginning to the end. His relatives did their best to make the boy deny the religion in order to save his life. But they failed at Namugongo,

Mbaaga spent a week with his relatives forcing him to deny his religion. Despite the promises and tortures for a whole week and night they failed. At the Namugongo furnance, Mukajaanga tried the last time. The boy was hit on the head and is body was thrown on the pyre of Namugongo, where it was burnt to ashes for Christ on Thursday noon 3rd June, 1886.

Mbaaga is the patron of vocations mainly of the seminarians, aspirants, postulants and novices.