Brother Sun treats Namugongo Pilgrims to Rare Display of Colours and Movements

 

by Valerian Kkonde                                                         

ACCPU

The procession and part of the pilgrims

 In Uganda, the month of June is dedicated to the Uganda Martyrs. It is on June 3 that the universal Church celebrates the feast of Charles Lwanga, Matia Mulumba and 20 companions who decided to shade their blood rather than denounce their faith in the Lord.

Pilgrims, in their millions, flock to Namugongo from all over the world to praise and thank God for the gift of these martyrs.  The 2025 pilgrimage will be remembered for the rare display put up by the Sun on the second and third of June.

It was a few minutes passed 9:00 am when suddenly, a section of the Pilgrims seated on the left side of the entry to the bridge leading to the altar, burst into shouting, clapping, singing and calls to others to come and witness to the rare displays in the sky.

From Pavilion C the shouts were audible as well as the stir in the crowd. At first I thought they were reacting to the music the Lugazi diocese choir was playing. No sooner was I taking my attention to other areas, the people at the very end of Pavilion C also burst into shouting, screaming and clapping. I stood up to take note of what was going on. As I tried to make sense of the fracas, I heard one lady shout and pointing intently in the sky: “I can see the Virgin Mary clearly.”

I decided to go out to get a clear view of what was taking place. The Pilgrims in Pavilion B were also scrambling to get a clear view of the sky.

The walkway between Pavilion B and Pavilion C was the perfect place to look up in the sky and have a clear view without any interruption. By now some people were shouting that it is the Virgin Mary.

Behold, I was amazed by the display the Sun was putting up in the sky!

The Sun was at first blue, then turned about as if in a bearing and appeared to move towards us! Then it turned white with golden clouds surrounding it! It then got a snow white cloud around itself and would shake as if it were falling from the sky!

After the white clouds, there would follow the nimbus clouds and the sequence went on and on! The spectacle was indeed a joy to behold! Not even a strain in the eyes could be felt.

As the pilgrims kept cheering, some were asking rather confused as to what was going on; they pleaded that they were not seeing anything.

A section of the Lugazi diocese choir. All photos by Arthur Kintu/ ACCPU

Some journalists tried to capture the spectacular display on their cameras but without success. By this time the procession of the priests was visible from the extreme right hand side, and the master of ceremonies was calling upon the pilgrims to get composed for Holy Mass. The excitement was too much to contain. It was 9:30 am by now.

After Mass, I talked to a priest about the display that the Sun had put up just before Mass. The priest told me that he had arrived in Namugongo on Saturday, 31^st May 2025. He went on to say that the Sun had indeed put up the same display on June 2, 2025 at 3:00 pm and last for almost an hour!

Whenever I recall that spectacular display of Brother Sun, on the day when we celebrate the Uganda Martyrs, what comes to mind is that Mary, the Queen of Martyrs, could have had a message for the Pilgrims.

With the marking of the decade for the landmark Encyclical: Laudato Si of Pope Francis, there is no doubt that the Queen of Martyrs would love to emphasise that she as well is the Queen of heaven and earth. She is the Queen of the Universe. Mother Mary is the mother of God and mother of the Church. And she never tires to intercede for her children.