Case file · Apparition / miracle
Kulubi Gabriel
Tradition says Ras Makonnen, governor of Harar and father of Haile Selassie, vowed to build a church to the Archangel Gabriel on the hill of Kulubi if he returned victorious from Adwa; the church became one of Ethiopia's largest pilgrimages.
1896 CE · 9.43, 41.68 · status: legend
The account
Each year on 19 Tahsas (late December) and again in July, tens of thousands of pilgrims walk to Kulubi, some carrying heavy stones or crawling the last stretch, to give thanks for prayers answered: healing, children, safe journeys. The present large church replaced the first building in the 20th century.
The sceptical view
Answered prayers are personal testimony; the story of the vow is told in several versions.