The first recorded Christian from Africa was the man from Ethiopia, whom St. Philip the Deacon evangelised on his chariot and baptised along the road, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. Acts 8). From the very beginning of the Church, then, African men and women have responded generously to God’s gift of grace to become some of the Church’s most celebrated saints.
Four of these include:
- St. Martin de Porres, Religious (1579—1639)
- St. Charles Llwanga, Martyr (1860—1886)
- St. Josephine Bakhita, Religious (1869—1947)
- Bld. Isidore Bakanja, Martyr (1887—1909)