On the 25th of March, 1885, Father Lourdel set out once more for Uganda. It was difficult to engage porters, for the tribes were still at war in the country which had to be traversed. They were still in the rainy season, and the travellers were sometimes waist deep in water.

"To preserve their garments from a wetting,” he wrote, “my companions took them off, rolled them into a small bundle and fastened them on their heads. As I could not avail myself of this excellent idea, I could not help wishing that I had at least a bathing costume. In the evening of the 3rd of April they reached Ukune, where they received a hearty welcome from the Uganda neophytes who had been left behind in charge. The rain had washed away the kitchen and part of the veranda, but in what remained of the mission house the travellers were able to take a much needed rest.

"We kept the feast of Easter," writes Father Lourdel, "as the Israelites celebrated the Pasch, staff in hand. We prayed also that we might arrive safely, like the Israelites, in our Promised Land, without falling into the hands of our Egyptians, the Watuta."

There was need of prayer. A few days later, a band of these warriors attacked a village in the near neighbourhood of the mission, and the Fathers were able to watch the battle from the roof. Luckily the natives succeeded in repulsing them, but the way to Kamoga, the next station, lay right through their country.

On the 15th of April, Father Lourdel set off again, with the catechumens and the children, through forests and fields devastated by Watuta raids. On the 17th the porters struck and refused to go further, without lighter loads and more pay. As Father Lourdel knew that Father Girault was sending men from Bukumbi to help to carry the luggage, he let them go, and on the next day sent off three of the Uganda Christians with a trusty guide to meet the others. Two days later the guide returned alone to tell the sad tale that they had been attacked by the Watuta, and he alone had escaped.* The next day they heard the war cries of the Watuta all round them. The terrified porters declared that they were going to certain death. Komba, the chief of one of the villages who had offered his house to Father Lourdel for a morning Mass, now offered to be their guide. "I think I can lead you safely through" he said, "if we leave the beaten tracks and take to the forest. It will be a hard journey, for the forest is deep and the brushwood thick, but it is the only way to escape the enemy."

* One of the three, Étienne, was later rescued by the courage and devotedness of Gabriel, another Uganda catechumen, who risked his life in the attempt to save him.

On the 23rd they left the hospitable village to cross the enemy lines. Dead silence was prescribed for all, and as much haste as possible. "Presently," writes Father Lourdel, "a little boy whom I had bought before leaving Ukune that he might not be separated from his brother, one of our children, began to cry and said that he could no farther. It was indeed hard travelling for an eight year old. As every porter had as much as he could carry, I shouldered him myself, but after a mile or so found it was more than I could manage and had to put him down.

Then it was the turn of the dog, who suddenly began to howl in a way that would have wrung our hearts at a less critical moment, but which might have been our death where we were. A thorn had pierced his foot, and as he refused to let it be taken out, I condemned him to be sacrificed, when he suddenly decided to be quiet and to limp along on three legs. Halfway through the afternoon the porters refused to go further, and we had to camp in the forest, lighting fires to drive away the wild beasts.

The guides now showed signs of fear and were preparing to run away, but Komba had his eye on them and we went on eastwards. Little Kabouga's feet were so swollen that he could not walk at all. I put him on the donkey, to which he clung like a limpet. Then we had to cross an open space, and were scarcely back under cover when we heard firing. It seemed to be coming nearer every minute.

"Kombo went on to scout and we followed as he directed. Suddenly the donkey set to work to bray in his most sonorous voice. Everyone fell on him, some pulled his tail, some, his head; he was so astonished, that, to our great relief, he stopped as suddenly as he had begun. The brave Kombo always scouting, we went on till we had passed the zone of danger, when he took leave of us and went home. How grateful we were to this kind friend for all he had done for us. May the Lord reward him by bringing him to the Faith."

At last they reached Kamoga, and Father Lourdel was trying to make arrangements with an Arab to transport them across the lake when he heard that Mwanga was sending twenty boats to fetch them. With them came some of their first converts, eager to greet the Fathers and give them news of Uganda. During the two years that had elapsed since their departure, they said, a hundred and seventy seven of the catechumens had died, after having been baptised by their friends, but in spite of this, owing to the zeal of the remainder, the number had not grown less.. Mwanga, they said, had averred that he was only waiting the arrival of the Fathers to declare himself on the subject of religion.
On the 25th of June, Father Lourdel, Father Giraud, and Brother Amans embarked for Uganda. On the shore at Doume they found their old friend Fuké, who was there at the head of 1,200 men to exact the tribute due from the chief to Mwanga. He remained with them for a day and a half, during which time Father Lourdel tried to learn from him as much as possible of the true state of affairs in Uganda. His account was less reassuring than that of the others. Mwanga, he said, was ready to welcome the Fathers and would he thought, leave them free to teach, though he himself was not likely to adopt their religion. He was not religiously inclined at all—excepting when he was ill. He smoked hashish, moreover, which in course of time would be certain to affect his brain. In the other hand, some of the catechumens had great influence over him and were always with him.

The return to the capital was like a triumphal procession. A deputation from the king was sent half-way to meet the travellers—headed by one of their old converts, who was in great favour at court. Greetings were given amidst the firing of guns, and the Fathers were assured of Mwanga’s good dispositions towards them. Many of their old friends, pages of the royal household, came out to meet them as they approached Rubaga to tell them that they had fixed upon a place for the mission, where only the people of the palace were allowed to go. But this did not suit the Fathers at all., "We manifested a desire," wrote Father Lourdel, "for a plantation between the palace and the. high road, where the poor as well as the rich would be able to come to us."

The first audience with the king was everything that could be desired. Mwanga was, most amiable, and made Father Lourdel promise that they would never leave Uganda again. Full liberty was given them to teach and to make converts. "If Mwanga remains in these dispositions," said Father Lourdel, “our catechumens will no longer be obliged to come to us in secret, as of old."

The mission house was begun at once by the king's orders, for their temporary dwelling was not large enough to hold the crowds that came to visit them. Through the zeal of the first converts, the number of catechumens had reached eight hundred—five or six alone had fallen away."It is quite a common thing," wrote Father Lourdel, "to see one of the old neophytes arriving with a dozen of his proselytes behind him declaring that these are not all. He has thirty or so more in his village at home, whom he will bring another day. He then proceeds to put them through their paces before us, that we may see how well they are instructed. They were beginning to despair, they tell us, of our ever returning, but still they went on with their work of making proselytes, so that, if they themselves were dead when we came back, we might still find the Faith in the hearts of the people. Others showed me rosaries they themselves had made."

Above: Nephews of Mwanga and their mothers

While Father Lourdel was dealing with the catechumens, and trying to sort them into different categories, Father Giraud was tending the sick and studying the language. "He has his hands full," says Father Lourdel, "for smallpox and the plague are endemic here. Some of the chiefs," he adds “are hostile, particularly the Katikiro, or first minister. Before our return he had urged that all the white men in the country should be put to death, or, at all events those of the natives who went to them for teaching. Three neophytes of the Protestant missionaries were seized by his orders and burnt alive. Our return displeased him greatly, and he refused to see me or to thank me for the present I had brought him. Seeing in what high favour we were with Mwanga, he relented sufficiently to send us an ox. This shows that he does not mean, openly at least, to show himself our enemy."

When the Fathers had left Uganda, Mwanga had been a rather promising boy; when they returned he had become a rather unpleasing young man. His face was weak and much less intelligent than his father's; he was passionate and easily frightened. On his elevation to the throne he had begun by breaking with the old superstitions of his race and showing great favour to the Christians, choosing several for the highest positions in the the kingdom. They had justified the confidence he had placed in them by saving his life in a plot set on foot by the pagan chiefs to murder him and put his brother on the throne. For this reason, as well as others, they were hated by the Katikiro, who had contrived the plot, but whose prayers and tears had obtained pardon from the king. It was a well-known fact that in the event of his death, Mwanga had meant to put one of the Christians, Joseph Mkasa, in the Katikiro's place and to make another, Andrew Kagwa, general in chief of his army. It was by the advice of these two men that the Fathers had been recalled.

"Our little mission," wrote Father Lourdel in October, "is a source of great consolation. Mwanga, it is true, though still friendly, seems to have completely forgotten that there is another world, in the enjoyment of this, but that is the only cloud on our horizon. In a few days I shall be preparing for baptism some twenty of our catechumens, who have proved their sincerity by five years of perseverance. Nearly a hundred more are almost ready, but it is best not to go too fast."

The Protestant missionaries were also profiting by the liberty given by Mwanga. The news got around that the Anglican Bishop Hannington (left) was on his way to pay them a visit, and the Arabs, always ready to take advantage of the fears of the king, suggested a white invasion. The Germans were threatening Bagamoya and Usagarait; it was easy to persuade Mwanga that the Englishman, who was said to have a large following, was part of a European army bent on the conquest of the country.

When the Protestant missionaries asked to be allowed to send the mission boat to meet their bishop, the king sent two of his own men with it under orders to take the stranger to Msala, at the south of the lake, and then to come back to him and report. If the report was satisfactory, he said, he would then allow the bishop into Uganda. Unfortunately the warning letters from the Protestant mission never reached Bishop Hannington. He took the fatal step of advancing on Uganda from the Nile, which had been forbidden, and Mwanga ordered his arrest. The Protestants who went to the palace to intercede for their countryman were not received, and on the 26th of October went to Father Lourdel, to see if he could do anything.

After much pressing Mwanga at last promised to spare the life of the white man, and to content himself with sending orders that he should return whence he had come, but either he did not mean to keep the promise, or the order for his death had already been given. On the 5th of November the news came that Bishop Hannington had been murdered in Usoga, with the greater part of his escort. The fact that Mwanga had dared to kill a white man was a great encouragement to the Arabs, who commended him for his prudence. (Click here for more about this)

Below: Bishop Hannington, captured by Mwanga's soldiers and later speared to death.

A few days later, Mwanga, who had been suffering from ophthalmia, sent to Father Lourdel for a remedy, which was at once brought to him. The following day he was better, but Mapera,. before leaving him, gave him two opium pills, directing him to take them if his eyes should pain him in the night. The next morning Mkasa, one of the Christian pages, arrived in a great hurry, with the news that the king had had a very bad night and was very unwell. Father Lourdel hastened to the palace. He found Mwanga very sick and in a very bad temper.

" The first pill you gave me," he said, "made me sleep, but the second made me very giddy, and I have been ill ever since. " Father Lourdel assured him that the effects would wear off, but the king was under the impression that he had been poisoned, and that he was dying. He refused to touch any of the remedies suggested, and groaned despairingly. Naswa, one of the royal princesses, who had been doctored successfully by Father Lourdel some days before, assured Mwanga that she had taken three opium pills and had been none the worse. She at last induced the terrified invalid to take some of the citric acid which Mapera had brought, with the result that he recovered rapidly. But Father Lourdel's reputation had suffered a blow from which it would not be easy to recover, and Mwanga's suspicions were likely to form a strong handle for his enemies against the Fathers.

On the following Sunday, when Father Lourdel went to the palace, he was told that the king’s ophthalmia was quite cured, and that he was in his usual health. He had been talking to his chiefs the greater part of the night. A little boy, one of the king's pages ran up to Mapera. "You would not baptise me when I asked you to last week,” he said; “now you will be sent away, and what shall I do ?” "Sent away?" exclaimed Father Lourdel. "Yes," said the child, "the king said very bad things about you last night. He thinks you tried to poison him in revenge for his having killed the Englishman, and that you want to put another king on the throne, because he will not adopt your religion. He is going to drive out all the white men, and perhaps kill them."

"Having been told that I could not see the king, as he was engaged with his chief," wrote Father Lourdel, "I sat down in great anxiety to wait. Presently the door opened, and one of the pages came out in the greatest distress. Joseph Mkasa, chief of the pages, had suddenly been arrested and carried off to be burnt alive. The king had declared that it was he who had advised me to give him the medicine that had so nearly caused his death, and that he had warned the English of the plot to kill them. Moreover he had dared to say to Mwanga himself after the murder of Bishop Hannington: "Why do you kill the white men? Mtesa, your father, never did so."

"I went back sorrowfully to the mission,” adds Father Lourdel, "to tell the others what was happening. The future seemed dark indeed, and we all took to our prayers.”