Rainbow-like glow re-emerges as Christians hold Luwum prayers
A pilgrim captures the unique rainbow-like glow that appeared around the sun as Christians marked the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum in Mucwini, Kitgum District yesterday. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- According to meteorologists, a halo is the result of ice crystals in the high altitude clouds that are thin, patchy and sheet-like in appearance.
- These clouds are called Cirrostratus clouds. When the sun shines through the crystals, it creates a rainbow effect.
The sun yesterday had a unique rainbow-like glow around it as Christians assembled in Mucwini, Kitgum District, and State House Entebbe, to mark the martyrdom of Archbishop Janani Luwum.
A similar halo that appeared exactly three years yesterday as the country marked the 41st anniversary in Kitgum excited Christians as the then Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali called for new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ. He called an iridescent glow “a miracle.”
According to meteorologists, a halo is the result of ice crystals in the high altitude clouds that are thin, patchy and sheet-like in appearance.
These clouds are called Cirrostratus clouds. When the sun shines through the crystals, it creates a rainbow effect.
However, it’s not clear why it appeared exactly three years yesterday.
The reappearance of this optical phenomenon, however, excited Christians who thronged St Paul Church of Uganda in Wigweng Village, Mucwini Sub-county, Kitgum as was the case on February 16, 2018.
Beatrice Anek Ochola 42, one of the pilgrims who attended the memorial service in Kitgum, said the recurrence of the aureole shows how powerful the spirit of the late Janani Luwum is, and according to her, it will be a great lesson to the current generation to emulate the life of the former archbishop.
She promised to narrate the story to her children and more especially grandchildren about the life of St Luwum.
Antonino Oceng Oloya, 58, another pilgrim who had travelled from Kitgum Municipality, which is 21km away from Wigweng, said he is yet to miss any St Luwum day celebration and that this is his second time to witness the occurrence of a halo during celebration in Wigweng.
Archbishop Luwum, the former primate of what was then the Church of the Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Boga-Zaire, was murdered by former President Idi Amin in on February 17, 1977, for his criticism against the excesses of his dictatorial regime.
Although the main event was at State House Entebbe, in Kitgum, the parallel memorial prayer was led by the Northern Uganda Bishop Emeritus Benoni Ogwal, who said the appearance of the halo embodies what God told Noah that there would be no more punishment through flooding.
Bishop Ogwal also explained that the miraculous glow shows that there will be no more brutal killing the same way the late archbishop was murdered by Amin.
The bishop advised the youth to emulate the life of the late Luwum and the legacy he left to the world.
He reiterated that Luwum is one of the few personalities around the world whose statue was erected in Westminster Abbey [formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, England] in recognition of his prophetic hope for northern Uganda.
