Vatican City released a set of six stamps on March 16, 1965, commemorating twenty-two Ugandans martyred for their Catholic faith in 1885-1887. The set includes 15-lire (turquoise), 20-lire (brown), 30-lire (ultramarine), 75-lire, (black), 100-lire (scarlet), and 160-lire (violet) values.
A portrayal of each of the martyrs, the individual's name, and years of martyrdom appear on the stamps. The vertical stamps depict the martyrs in groups of two to seven. The inscription "SS MARTYRES UGANDENES" (Saints & Martyrs of Uganda) appears at the top of the stamp. Poste Vaticane and the stamp's value appear at the bottom.
The acts of martyrdom, reminiscent of Christian persecutions in the early Roman Empire, occurred against a background of erratic rule by Mwanga II, Kabaka (king) of Buganda (Uganda) (1884-1888; 1889-1897). He played Christians and others against each other in an era of significant Christian conversions and disputed Anglo-French control of this East African area.
The Ugandan martyrs ranged in age from 13 to 25 years. Historians sometimes refer to them as "Charles Lwanga and Companions." Lwanga, who appears on the 20-lire stamp, was in charge of the royal pages, some of whom he baptized. Another martyr, Joseph Mkasa, criticized Mwanga for acts of debauchery and murder. Mkasa, beheaded in 1886, appears on the 15-lire stamp. In 1886, a group of thirty Roman Catholics and Anglicans were wrapped in straw mats and burned alive at Namugongo. The Vatican canonized the martyrs in 1964. Buganda (Uganda) became a British protectorate in the 1890s, and Mwanga fled to exile in the Seychelles after 1897.
The vertical stamps measure 4 x 3 cm and have the Crossed Keys of St. Peter watermark. Perforations are 13 x 14. C. Dabrowska designed the 15-lire stamp, which E. Donnini engraved. Other designers included M. Colombati (20-lire), V. Nicastro (30-lire), S. Vana (75-lire), F. G. Pagani (100-lire), and T. Mele (160-lire) values. The Italian State Printing Works, Rome, produced the stamps using the recess process. The Vatican issued 1,885,300 sets, which remained available until December 31, 1965.
References:
"Vatikanstaat," in Michel Europa Katalog, band 3, Südeuropa, Unterschleißheim, Germany: Schwanberger Verlag GMBH, 2008.
"Vatican City," in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, part 8, Italy and Switzerland, 7th edition, Ringwood, Hampshire, England, 2010.
Farmer, David Hugh, "Lwanga, Charles and Companions," in Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 5th edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John, "Uganda, Matryrs of," in Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 3rd edition, London: Penguin Books, 1995.
"Mwanga," in The Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, volume 8, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Ltd, 1987.