12 MAY 1890
DEATH OF FATHER LOURDEL (1853-1890)
MISSIONARY OF AFRICA (WHITE FATHER)
APOSTLE TO THE BAGANDA
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At
ten past one in the afternoon of the 12th May 1890, Father Siméon
Lourdel died at Rubaga near Kampala (Uganda), surrounded by his confreres,
Fathers Camille Denoit (1862-1891) and Alphonse Brard (1858-1918). Thus
the second of the five founders of the Catholic Church in Buganda (part
of today's Uganda), passed away at the age of 37; the four others were
Archbishop Livinhac (1846-1922), Fathers Girault (1853-1941) and Barbot
(1846-1882) and Brother Amans Delmas (1852-1895).

The death of Father Lourdel occurred at an important
juncture in the pre-colonial history of Buganda. Torn by religious and
political rivalries, this kingdom had fallen prey to the colonial ambitions
of Germany and Great Britain. Unfortunately, the death of Father Lourdel
coincided with the departure of Bishop
Livinhac (1846-1922), Vicar Apostolic of 'Victoria-Nyanza' Vicariate,
newly elected Superior General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa.
The death of one and the departure of the other at that point were an
incalculable loss for Catholics. They had been their most able and also
their most loved leaders.
The diary of Rubaga Mission contains an account of
the death of Father Lourdel. It consists of some very moving pages of
a little-known period of missionary history. It is of interest to revisit
these pages, aware of the progress achieved in the area of the history
of mission in Equatorial Africa in recent years.
Portrait (dessin) du P. Lourdel réalisé en 1906
par le P. Gustave Dehuisserre (1857-1933) sûrement à partir
d'une photo que nous n'avons plus
A few biographical notes
Father
Lourdel, baptised Siméon, was originally from the diocese of
Arras in the north of France. He was born on the 20th December 1853
in the village of Dury (Pas-de-Calais) into a well-to-do and very Catholic
farming family; one of his brothers would become a Carthusian. After
his primary schooling at the 'Séminaire des Saints Anges' at
Arras, he continued his secondary studies at the junior seminary of
the same town. Expelled for lack of discipline, he completed his studies
at Saint Bertin College at Saint Omer. In his youth, he read the life
of Father Vénard (1829-1860), who died a martyr at Tonkin (Indochina).
It awakened in him the desire to become a missionary, a desire that
he would later share with his friends at Saint Bertin College, Léonce
Bridoux (1852-1890) and Anatole Toulotte (1852-1907). The three friends
would enter the Society of Missionaries of Africa after a meeting in
1873 with Father Charmetant (1844-1921), a Missionary of Africa sent
to France to look for candidates for the plan to evangelise Africa,
launched at Algiers by Archbishop Lavigerie (1825-1892) in 1868.
After going through the various stages of his training with the Missionaries
of Africa, Lourdel, then a major seminarian, was ordained a priest on
Easter Monday the 2nd April 1877 at Maison Carrée, near Algiers.
At the beginning of his priestly life, he taught for a few months at
the junior seminary of Notre-Dame d'Afrique, and then in November 1877,
he joined the community of Metlili in the Sahara. The following year,
Archbishop Lavigerie appointed him a member of the first caravan heading
to Equatorial Africa. He formed part of the group consisting of Archbishop
Livinhac (1846-1922), destined to evangelise the peoples of the Lake
Victoria region. He and Brother Amans Delmas (1852-1895) were the first
to arrive in Buganda on the 17th February 1879, after a journey lasting
10 months. Their caravan had left Marseilles on the 17th April 1878.
From then until his death, Father Lourdel evangelised the Baganda with
a view to founding a Catholic kingdom among them, according to the instructions
of Archbishop Lavigerie. By 1890, in spite of the 1886 persecution,
the Catholic community even then numbered some 1,200 baptised and 10,000
catechumens.
Father Siméon Lourdel with Dallington Scorpion
Mafta ,his monitor of language (?)
In
Buganda, Father Lourdel was called 'Mapeera', the local pronunciation
of the French 'mon Père'. According to the testimony of his confreres,
he impressed his circle of friends with his physical qualities: he was
tall, muscular and had rugged good looks. He was a man of action, extremely
strong and active, a leader with a rare will power and the solid faith
of country people. This description from his contemporaries does not
compare much with the angelic image of Father Lourdel on his most famous
photograph, a portrait noticeably retouched to satisfy the religious
sensitivities of French Catholics at the end of the 19th century.(on
the left)
The final months of Father Lourdel at Rubaga: February-May 1890
At
that time, Father Lourdel became an influential person among the Baganda:
he was at one and the same time superior of Rubaga Mission, a gifted
leader for the Catholics and the personal advisor of Kabaka (King) Mwanga
(ca.1866-1903). Moreover, he was a friend of Gabriel, the commander
of the Royal Army, which was composed, in addition to ordinary troops,
of a special guard of 3,370 soldiers armed with old rifles and equipped
with a considerable fleet of boats.
From February to May 1890, he was prey to the worry of preserving the
independence of Buganda and the throne of Mwanga, who had become his
catechumen. In 1888, the Muslims known as the 'baadi', because of the
Mahdi of the Sudan exiled Mwanga and founded a Muslim kingdom, to the
dismay of the Catholics. The following year, these Catholics, with their
allies, restored Mwanga to the throne, after defeating the 'baadi'.
However, the victors were unable to defeat their adversaries for good:
the Anglicans, distrusting power in Catholic hands, refused to take
part in the fighting.
Wary of the threat of a 'baadi' revenge, Father Lourdel tried to unite
Catholics, traditionalists and Protestants to form a coalition based
on power-sharing. Above all, he feared the intervention of an Englishman
named Jackson (1860-1938), an emissary of the 'Imperial East-Africa
Company' and a German named Peters, (1856-1918), founder of the 'Deutsche
Kolonialgesellschaft'. These two, representing colonial powers, intended
to take Buganda, exploiting its political and religious instability.
Each in turn proposed military aid to Mwanga to combat the 'baadi'.
Their assistance naturally had a price tag: Jackson demanded a protectorate
with a trading monopoly for his company and Peters demanded the neutrality
of Buganda with freedom to trade.
Click to enlarge the map of the Vicariat "Victoria-Nyanza"
(about 1890)
Given the content of the two proposals, Father Lourdel advised Mwanga
to sign a treaty preferably with Peters in the hope of preserving the
independence of his kingdom, on the way to becoming a Catholic kingdom.
This treaty, drafted in French and Kiswahili, was signed on the 1st
March 1890 to the great displeasure of the Anglicans. They feared a
power takeover by the Catholics and appealed for help to Jackson, who
went to the royal capital at Mengo on the 14th April 1890, accompanied
by three hundred well-armed Nubians.
Hardly had he arrived than Jackson asked Mwanga to arrest Peters. However,
his request came too late: the German had already left the capital having
thanked Father Lourdel for his services. Subsequently, Jackson had an
interview with Father Lourdel, who advised him to wait with the protectorate
proposal. He explained to him that 'neither the Baganda nor the King
are ready for that yet.' However, Jackson, an English Protestant, refused
to take account of the advice of this French Catholic priest and on
the 21st April 1890, requested the protectorate.
What Father Lourdel recommended occurred. Kabaka Mwanga refused Jackson's
request and threatened to leave his kingdom in company with his supporters.
Finally, to get out of the impasse, the Kabaka proposed to send two
ambassadors to Zanzibar, an Anglican and a Catholic, to submit to the
German and British consuls the issue of knowing whether Buganda would
remain free or become a British Protectorate. Jackson agreed to the
proposal and he then made ready to leave for Zanzibar, accompanied by
two Baganda ambassadors.
It was then that Father Lourdel fell seriously ill. Surrounded by his
confreres, Fathers Brard and Denoit, he died on the 12th May 1890 at
Rubaga. According to a contemporary diagnosis, he died of hepatitis.
Upon learning the news, his Vicar Apostolic wrote to Maison Carrée,
'He is the eighth confrere to leave us in eight months.'
On
his deathbed, Father Lourdel designated Father Brard (1858-1918) as
his successor. 'This appointment would be confirmed at the beginning
of July by Bishop Hirth (1854-1931), successor to Archbishop Livinhac
as Vicar Apostolic of the Victoria-Nyanza Vicariate. In the meantime,
the role of superior of Rubaga was filled by Father Lombard (1857-1893),
on account of his age; he had been travelling at the time of his confrere's
death.
Father
Brard as successor to Father Lourdel posed problems. Originally
from Normandy, this Father arrived at Rubaga on the 28th April 1890.
He knew neither Buganda nor its inhabitants. Why did Father Lourdel
designate Father Brard as his successor? Moreover, for what reasons
did Bishop Hirth confirm this surprising replacement, given that there
were other suitable candidates? After Father Lourdel's death, Father
Denoit was seen as the 'soul of the Buganda mission.' However, Bishop
Hirth placed his trust in Father Brard. Both of them knew one another
very well; they had arrived in Equatorial Africa in the same caravan
in September 1887. Father Brard was an energetic person full of zeal.
He began his missionary life at Kipalapala, near Tabora. Later, in 1900,
he would be one of the four founders of the Catholic Church in Rwanda,
with Bishop Hirth.
Father Brard wearing the colonial helmet
seated next to Father Hirth (1887)
The writer of the account of Father Lourdel's death in the diary
of Rubaga
For now, it is impossible to identify with any certainty who the writer
of this account was. Normally, the Mission diary was written by the
superior. It was part of his duties. In a way, the diary was an aide-mémoire
for writing up reports required by his Vicar Apostolic. During Father
Lourdel's illness, the Rubaga diary was kept up in the interim by one
of the two confreres present: Father Brard or Father Denoit.
Father Brard arrived at Rubaga Mission only some weeks after the death
of Father Lourdel. We can suppose that he was not up to keeping the
Rubaga diary, given his lack of knowledge of the Mission situation.
By contrast, it is very probable that the diary was kept by Father Denoit
(1862-1891).
Father
Denoit, originally from the diocese of Rodez, arrived at Rubaga
in May 1886. According to his confreres, he knew the language and customs
of the people very well, as also the 'traditions of the first missionaries.'
This comes out in the account. On several occasions, he uses words in
Luganda: 'lubugo - a fabric made from ficus bark' and 'Mwana wa Mbuga
- a son of the court'. He also uses an old English word: 'bifti' - beef
tea', introduced into Buganda by Anglican missionaries. He felt enormous
admiration for Father Lourdel and sometimes forgot his objectivity,
which is quite understandable given the tragic circumstances. When he
writes of 'hundreds of Christians who shed their blood to testify to
their faith,' is it badly expressed or a pious exaggeration? In fact,
among the victims of Mwanga's persecution in 1886, there were 37 Catholics.
The writer provides us above all with precise information concerning
the medical knowledge of the first missionaries and Father Lourdel's
illness, along with the exact time of his death.
The account of Father Lourdel's death in the Rubaga diary (May 1890)
We have used the original text conserved in the Archives of the Missionaries
of Africa in Rome. This text was published for the first time in 1891
in 'Chronique Trimestrielle', a publication then intended only for members
of the Society of Missionaries of Africa. Its exclusive character explains
why the original text has been respected, in spite of some few corrections.
There is also a typed copy. Unfortunately it is not trustworthy; it
was done by someone who lacked professional skills.
4 - 7 May (1890) -
Lauzi, the chief of the Sésé, exiled by the Protestants
and who is following instructions with us, has come to plead his
case before the king. Mwanga tells him he will never exile him,
that he may return to reclaim his place; he won his case and returned
to Sésé with several catechists. Reverend Father
Lourdel was getting ready to fetch Father Lombard and Brother
Amans at Sésé and begin an apostolic visit to Sésé
Island, contaminated by Protestants, when he had a sudden short
bout of fever; moreover the war was not over; he decided to remain
and send boats to fetch the confreres.
Thursday 8 May - Fr. Lourdel is
still a bit feverish; he takes calomel purgative.
Friday 9 May - Saturday 10 May -
Our patient is getting worse; every time he vomits, he brings
up bile; we give him a purgative, but it has little effect. We
administer strong doses of quinine; he is very agitated; he complains
of his back, chest, legs and liver; we apply 'Spanish fly', [Externally
applied, cantharides excites inflammation in the skin for the
relief of neuritis, peritonitis, pleurisy, etc. Tr.] but nothing
soothes him.
Sunday 11 May - The illness is getting
progressively worse; our poor patient was preparing himself for
death during the night; in the morning we celebrated the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass in his hut and he took Holy Communion. He
began to have hiccups; we managed to stop them with ether or chloroform
capsules, but with the least movement he makes they came back;
also, when he is exhausted he becomes calmer; we give him a little
wine or beef tea, but he cannot keep anything down. He is still
conscious, speaking little other than to ask pardon of God for
his many sins; he asks only to die, he is good for nothing more.
Heaven, Our Lady, Jesus, these are on his mind; he only regrets
one thing, of not having served the Good Lord better and, praying
the Rosary, he weeps like a child. He wants at all costs to be
laid on the ground to die, as he is not worthy of dying in his
camp bed. Some of the principal parishioners are allowed into
his hut; he makes his farewells to them, telling them to remain
good Christians, to pray for him, their country and their king;
he also recommends them to have patience. In the evening, we administer
the Sacrament of Extreme Unction that he himself requested; he
replied to the prayers of the ritual. The expedition has returned,
as the baadi did not appear; our parishioners come to receive
news of our patient and to pray the Rosary around his dwelling
in the deepest silence; consternation reigns in the household,
'Mapeera is going to die', and everyone wants to see him again,
to speak to him one last time, but he cannot receive anyone.
Monday 12 May - The poor Father
had a fit of hiccups the whole night; it only stopped this morning;
his whole body is drenched in a cold sweat; from the morning he
was saying, 'I am going to die today', and he generously offers
his life in sacrifice; he speaks only with great difficulty; nonetheless,
he dictates his last will, recommending us to pray often for him
and requesting the plenary indulgence 'in articulo mortis'. From
10 o'clock onwards, he did not speak again; we read the prayers
for the dying. Mwanga sent word that he wants to come and visit
our dying Father; we tell him to hurry; little by little, his
pulse grows weaker; the body cools, the eyes stop moving; he makes
a slight movement and gives his soul up to God at ten past one
in the afternoon. Mwanga arrived just when he had breathed his
last; the poor king was stunned, confronted with the body, unable
to utter a single word. 'Mapeera is dead' soon makes the rounds
of the capital. All our parishioners arrived at once at the Mission.
The Protestants themselves, the minister (Katikiro) at their head,
came to pay a visit; even the pagans want to see Mapeera. For
the whole evening, the poor hut in which we laid Father out was
crowded out. The Catholics prayed the Rosary in a religious silence.
The king and dignitaries offered fabrics, 'lubugo' to bury the
dead according to local custom; we refuse them, but some nonetheless
oblige us to accept their 'lubugo'.
Tuesday 13 May
- At four o'clock, our Christians, both baptised and catechumens
are already praying their Rosary, either in the chapel or around
the body of their dearly beloved Father. The transfer of the body
took place at 6 o'clock; we celebrated Holy Mass, gave the absolution
and led him to his final resting-place, 20 metres behind the main
chapel that the Reverend Father had had begun and that is still
unfinished. The Christians spent the day erecting a little monument
on the tomb, according to local custom.
Tomb of Father Lourdel with the Funerary Hut (1890 ?)
Mr Jackson, who was due to leave today,
postponed his departure till tomorrow; he came to pay us a visit
with Mr Gordon and the other Whites. We can finally have a bit
of a rest and try to make sense of the misfortune the Good Lord
has inflicted upon us. What an emptiness it leaves in Buganda!
May the will of our Good Master be done.
As we saw in the preceding pages, Reverend
Father Lourdel returned to Buganda in triumph, like a king; he
was the bane of the Protestants, a brother to the king, a Father
for the Christians that almost all he had regenerated in holy
Baptism, a power for his children, to whom he never failed to
preach union, patience and charity. It seemed as if the Good Lord
called him to conquer the whole of this beautiful country of Uganda
for his holy religion; the pagans themselves only knew our holy
religion under the title of 'the religion of Mapeera.' Now, our
Good Master has called him to Himself.
Therefore, he only came back to be interred in his Buganda that
he loved so much, among his children for whom he had spent his
life. At least he will not appear empty-handed before our Sovereign
Judge.
Reverend Father Lourdel spent twelve years in Equatorial Africa
; he was part of the first caravan that could be called the caravan
of the martyrs. He was the first Catholic missionary to penetrate
into Uganda in January 1879, going ahead to prepare the way for
Archbishop Livinhac and his confreres. He gave himself completely
to his difficult work. By dint of patience and gentleness, he
won the affection of Mutesa and deserved the epithet of 'Mwana
wa Mbuga', son of the court. He left Buganda and went to found
a post in Ukuné, then returned to Uganda when Mwanga reigned.
It was a continual exercise in patience. God alone knows the stress,
the fears that he had to undergo; hundreds of Christians shedding
their blood to testify to their faith. Finally, after adding to
all these merits prison, blows and death threats, he was expelled
from Buganda and condemned to abandon his beloved Christians.
Back in the south, he founded the post of Nyegezi for the Baganda,
but as soon as he learned that Uganda could be reopened, he raced
to Bulimbugwe to be among his Christians. Here, there is more
than is necessary in work, travel and suffering to fill a missionary
life and merit the title of 'Apostle of Uganda.' Nearly 1,200
baptisms were administered in Uganda and the number of catechumens
reaches ten thousand. Now, we only have to follow the example
of virtue bequeathed by our venerated confrere. May he always
be alive at the post of St Mary of Rubaga with his untiring zeal,
his unfailing patience, his gentleness, his friendliness, his
vitality that won all hearts and above all charity among his confreres.
Thursday 15 May - Ascension Day.
- We send a courier to Bukumbi to announce the death of Fr. Lourdel.
- Mr. Jackson left today accompanied by a Christian who will ask
at the coast for the freedom of Uganda in the name of the king,
of all the Christians and all those who do not seek instruction,
and of a Protestant who is going to request the protectorate on
behalf of the non-English. - We bring Fr Lourdel's rifle to the
king. Mwanga intimated his desire to have a souvenir of Mapeera.
At the court, we met Mr Gordon and Mr Gedges.
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The account of Father Lourdel's death by Canon Nicq
Canon Nicq is the first historian to use this account as historical
testimony in his book entitled, 'Vie du révérend Père
Siméon Lourdel de la Congrégation des Pères Blancs
de Notre-Dame d'Afrique : premier missionnaire catholique de l'Ouganda
(Afrique équatoriale)' [Life of Reverend Father Siméon
Lourdel of the Congregation of White Fathers of Our Lady of Africa :
first Catholic missionary in Uganda (Equatorial Africa).] This biography
of 657 pages is the result of 4 years of work. According to the information
on the cover, it was published at Paris in 1896. However, in fact, it
had already left the printers towards the end of 1895. It publication
was not without a certain number of risks. The Canon published it some
years after the civil war of 1892 in Buganda, a war with disastrous
consequences for Catholics and Buganda, which had become a British Protectorate.
The government in London had accepted responsibility for the destruction
of Catholic Missions, but it had not yet compensated the Missionaries
of Africa. It would do so in April 1898, paying them £10,000 sterling.
The author of the biography was Canon Nicq, former rector of the major
seminary of Arras and dean of De Rivière (Pas de Calais). He
opted for a religious approach to his subject. Having made this choice,
he presented the historical facts from that angle. He described Father
Lourdel as 'one of the glories of the Congregation, one of the most
remarkable missionaries of his time', and, 'it can be said of this century
that it was so prolific in great missionaries.' His hero was 'the guide
and model for those called to succeed him.' Archbishop Livinhac, Superior
General of the Missionaries of Africa confirmed this religious treatment
in his short word of introduction. 'Let us hope that (the biography)
will give rise to generous dedication in favour of a race to a degree
as worthy of compassion as it was despised and maltreated for so many
centuries, and in particular in favour of the Baganda that your account
shows us to be so greatly talented, relative to intelligence and character
and thus capable of great accomplishments.'
The biography was first used in the Missionaries of Africa novitiate
during Spiritual Reading on the 17th November 1895. 'This evening, in
the middle of supper, there was a massive silence; with one accord,
everyone stopped eating and simultaneously all eyes turned towards the
lectern. The reader, after a long pause, had just intoned at his best
pitch, 'Life of Reverend Father Lourdel of the White Fathers, by Father
Nicq.' A sigh of satisfaction was set to rise from all hearts. It was
in fact the history of one of our precursors, one of our elder brothers;
it was also the first life of a White Father published and in addition,
the origins of this beautiful mission of Uganda were recounted throughout.'
As for the account of Father Lourdel's death, Canon Nicq probably did
not have access to the original text as found in the Rubaga diary. Undoubtedly
he would have had to make do with the published account in the Chronique
Trimestrielle of 1891. Although the biographer copied the text with
a certain amount of precision, he left out some passages considered
too confidential for the period. For example, the passage, 'he was expelled
from Buganda and condemned to abandon his beloved Christians. Back in
the south, he founded the post of Nyegezi for the Baganda, but as soon
as he learned that Uganda could be reopened, he raced to Bulimbugwe
to be among his Christians,' is missing. Also lacking is another passage,
'Nearly 1,200 baptisms were administered in Uganda and the number of
catechumens reaches ten thousand.'
The content of the account would be modified when the biography was
revised in 1906 and 1922 at Maison Carrée by the Society of Missionaries
of Africa, under a new title, 'Le Père Siméon Lourdel
de la Société des Pères Blancs et les premières
années de la Mission de l'Ouganda (Afrique équatoriale)'
- 'Father Siméon Lourdel of the White Fathers' Society and the
first years of the Uganda Mission (Equatorial Africa).' The second and
third editions, with the same format as the first, numbered 627 and
546 pages respectively. Father Mercui (1854-1947), the first historian
of the Society of Missionaries of Africa, pointed out that these two
editions were modified by Archbishop Livinhac. Apparently, Livinhac
was not entirely satisfied with the work of Canon Nicq in spite of him
having received a prize from the Académie Française. In
making these changes, did Archbishop Livinhac present Father Lourdel
more as a model to follow? For the time being, we have no information
clarifying his motives.
Here we publish the version of the account as presented in the second
edition of 1906. This version enables us to see where the original text
was changed and how it lost its authentic 1890 character. We wonder
whether Canon Nicq gave his agreement to these modifications. It is
even possible that he was never asked, as he predeceased the publication.
However, we have not yet been able to establish this.
Here are the reverential details left to
us on the demise of the Apostle of Uganda.
Monday, 11 May. - 'The illness is
still getting worse. Our dear patient prepared himself for death
during the night. In the morning we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice
in his hut, and he took Holy Communion. In spite of his weakness,
he remains conscious, but speaks little except to ask God's forgiveness.
He says he is not seeking to recover, he is good for nothing else!
Heaven, Mary, Jesus, these are on his mind. He wants at all costs
to be laid on the earth to breathe his last. Some of the principal
neophytes are allowed into the hut; he bids them farewell, recommending
them to remain good Christians always, to pray for him their country
and their king. In the evening, we administer the Sacrament of
Extreme Unction that he himself requested; he replied to the prayers
of the ritual.
'Mapeera is going to die! This is the cry we hear. All the Christians
are asking to see him one last time, but we cannot allow it due
to his extremely weak condition.
Tuesday, 12. - 'This morning his
body is drenched in a cold sweat. From break of day he told us,
I am going to die today. Once again, he generously offers his
life in sacrifice. He speaks only with great difficulty; nonetheless,
he dictates his last will, recommending us to pray often for him
and requesting the plenary indulgence 'in articulo mortis'. From
10 o'clock onwards, he did not speak again; we read the prayers
for the dying.
'Mwanga sent word that he wants to see
the patient; we tell him to hurry; little by little, his pulse
disappears and his body cools. The dying Father lifted his eyes
heavenward with an ineffable smile that would indicate seeing
a vision. A moment later he makes a slight movement and gives
his sweet soul up to God at one o'clock in the afternoon. Mwanga
arrived just at that point. The poor king was stunned, confronted
with the body, unable to utter a single word
'Mapeera is dead' soon makes the rounds of the capital.
'All our parishioners ran to the Mission;
the Protestants, the minister at their head, came to pay us a
visit ; even the pagans want to see Mapeera. For the whole evening,
the poor hut in which we laid out his remains was crowded out.
The king and dignitaries offered fabrics to bury the dead according
to local custom; we refuse them but some nonetheless insisted
so much we accept this touching gesture of respectful sympathy.
Wednesday 13. - At four o'clock
all our people are already praying the Rosary. At six o'clock,
the funeral service took place, then we led the mortal remains
of our confrere to its final resting place, twenty metres from
the main chapel that he had had begun and which is not yet finished.
The Christians spend the day erecting a little house of reeds
on the tomb, according to local custom. Mr Jackson who was due
to leave today, postponed his departure till tomorrow. He came
with Mr Gordon and other Europeans to offer his condolences.
'Gradually there is silence around us and
we are more able to sense the tragedy that has struck us. What
a loss for us, for our Christians and the whole of Uganda!
'Therefore, he only came back to be interred in this Buganda that
he loved so much, among his children for whom he had spent his
life. At least he will not appear empty-handed before our Sovereign
Judge!
The writer of the Mission Diary, after
a fine tribute to Fr. Lourdel, then summarised his apostolate.
Father Lourdel spent twelve years in Equatorial Africa. He was
part of the first caravan, the first to set out and plant the
cross in the centre of Africa. He was the first Catholic missionary
to penetrate into Uganda and the first European to be buried there.
He arrived here in February 1879, to prepare the way for his confreres.
He gave himself completely to an undertaking fraught with difficulties.
By dint of patience and gentleness, he won the affection of Mutesa
and deserved the epithet of 'Mwana wa Mbuga', son of the court.
His life was a continual exercise in patience. God alone knows
the stress, the fears that he had to undergo. However, all these
undertakings bore fruit and engendered many Christians who shed
their blood in testimony to their faith. Finally after adding
to all these merits prison, blows and death threats, he fell,
shrouded, in a manner of speaking, in triumph. Here, admittedly
is more than enough to merit the title of 'Apostle of Uganda.'
'For us who have the privilege of sharing
his undertakings, may we be able to follow in his footsteps and
imitate his untiring zeal, his unfailing patience and his friendliness
that won all hearts !'
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The 5 texts, the 1890 original and the 4 others published in 1891,
in 1896, in 1906 and finally in 1922 have their importance for those
interested in the history of Equatorial Africa in general and that of
its evangelisation in particular. The first is a unique testimony of
an historical event, the death of Father Lourdel and the 4 others shows
how this testimony was presented at a certain period of history according
to criteria tied to a given context. For researchers, it is important
to know that there are therefore 5 versions of the same account. When
they use them for different purposes, they have to take account of this.
In conclusion, we point out that there is an Italian and Spanish translation
of the 1922 edition. The Spanish translation was published in 1945
To see also :Opening
of our new parish Mapeera-Nabulagala in Kampala, Uganda
and the webpage about "The First
White Fathers" in Uganda 1879
BIBLIOGRAPHY : A.G.M.Afr, Journal
de la Mission de Rubaga :14/09/1889 - 27/02/1891, N° 148. A.G.M.Afr,
Journal de la Mission de de Rubaga (1889-1892) : Mai - Juin 1890, pp.
21-25. A.G.M.Afr, Journal du noviciat des Missionnaires d'Afrique :
1894 - 1896, 17 novembre 1896, p. 340. " Diaire du Buganda : septembre
1889 - août 1890 ", in Chronique Trimestrielle, Alger, 1891,
1er Trim., pp. 342-380. A.G.M.Afr., " Le Père Lourdel ",
in Notices nécrologiques : 1873 - 1902, Tome I. Nicq A., Vie
du révérend Père Siméon Lourdel de la Congrégation
des Pères Blancs de Notre-Dame d'Afrique : premier missionnaire
catholique de l'Ouganda (Afrique équatoriale), Paris, 1896, 675
pp. - Le Père Siméon Lourdel de la Société
des Pères Blancs et les premières années de la
Mission de l'Ouganda (Afrique équatoriale), Alger, 1906, 627
pp. - Le Père Siméon Lourdel de la Société
des Pères Blancs et les premières années de la
Mission de l'Ouganda (Afrique équatoriale), Alger, 1922, 545
pp. - Frente a Frente. Vida del P. Simeon Lourdel de los PP. Blancos.
La epopeya misionera de los Grandes Lagos Africanos (Traducción
del Francés por F. Aramendia), Madrid, 1945, 617 pp. DUVAL A.,
le Père Siméon Lourdel : Apôtre de l'Ouganda (1853-1890),
Paris, 2004, 274 pp. MINNAERT S., " Le Kabaka Mwanga du Buganda
", in Premier Voyage de Mgr Hirth au Rwanda : novembre 1899 - février
1900, Kigali, 2006, pp 176-190.
Rome, 18 July 2007
Fr. STEFAAN MINNAERT, M.Afr.
Translation in English by Fr. Donald MacLeod, M.Afr.
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