Sabbatical 2014 A Venture to West Africa and East Africa Sunday, October 12 - Nairobi, Kenya Sunday morning I went down to the Monestary chapel to have quiet private time to pray the Divine Office as I do each day. About five minutes to seven I saw one of the brothers begin setting up for Mass. Since Fr. Francis and I were going to a nearby parish for the 10 am Mass I got up to leave to go elsewhere to finish my prayer time. As I did so, the brother called me over to the sacristy to show me where the vestments were for Mass. He explained that the priest who has been saying Mass for them has not been well and may still be resting. He thought since I was at the chapel I would offer the Mass for them. The brothers there had to leave after the Mass to drive to their mission houses several hours away. I was happy to oblige, but needed just a moment to look at the Sunday scriptures since I had not yet reviewed them. Again a graced time unexpectedly with some of the brothers from this community. The day was just beginning and there were more graced moments still in store! About 9:40 am Fr. Francis and I arrived at St. Austins. St. Austin Parish was established in 1889 after a large segment of land was sold to the Holy Ghost Fathers by a tribal chief for a bag of rice and sugar. The land stretched from near central Nairobi out for 4-5 miles west. Over the years most of the acreage was sold to developers as the city grew out towards the west for the very wealthy while the east side of town was left for the very poor, living in tin and wood shanties or low income government apartments cheaply made and very run down after 10 years. We looked for the pastor to introduce ourselves and get vested to concelebrate the 10 am Mass. We met Fr. John, the Pastor, and Fr. Joseph, Holy Ghost Fathers who invited us in to have tea before going over for the Mass and telling us we need to stay after the Mass to join them for lunch. We were happy to do so and after brief introductions we joined Fr. Joseph for the Mass. Just before the Mass he invited me to briefly preach since there was another Mass at 11:30. At that moment I thanked God that I had been asked to celebrate Mass earlier with the brothers. As I experienced in Nigeria, the Mass was celebrated whole heartedly by the congregation in both responses and traditional African melodies. Following the Mass we had some extra time available to walk around the parish compound which encompassed St. Mary School, a priest cemetery, and 50 acres of beautiful grounds. On the property there were a few houses available for some of those who worked at St. Austins. At one of them we met Michael, his wife and his family of seven children. They lived in a building built in 1889 originally used for stables converted now into a home. This building as well as the rectory had walls two feet thick that bullets were not able to penetrate. They were built when the Catholic missionaries at times faced hostile indigenous people and needed extra protection. We also came across a group of teenagers and children practicing a processional dance with a couple of lay leaders and a religious sister. Without any musical accompaniment they sang and stomped their feet to the songs melody while their arms and body moved in motion with that melody. They were fascinating to watch and they enjoyed the audience of two priests! At the beginning of October, the Holy Ghost Fathers were given permission by Rome to establish its own Kenyan province. We were told by Fr. Joseph, Fr. John may soon become their Provincial Superior. When we left St. Austins we drove to a nearby cloistered Carmelite community which had been visited by Pope St John Paul II on May 7, 1980. We were greeted by a young sister who gave us some history of the community with sisters from Ireland first establishing the community, then followed by Carmelites from Cleveland. I asked if that was Cleveland, Ohio. She didnt know, but thought the older American sister in the community might know. So she called a Sr. Margaret who was originally from Pittsburgh, PA. Sr. Margaret stood perhaps five feet but beamed with warmth from a heart that emanated far beyond her stature. She has been with the community in Nairobi for 60+ years and had arrived there as a very young woman. During our visit with her she pulled out a picture album that showed a newspaper clip and picture of sisters leaving on a TWA flight from New York City to Nairobi, Kenya, with a very young Sr. Margaret being a bright lady with a broad smile in the group of sisters. And yes, Sr. Margaret still had that smile and she confirmed the sisters I had asked about were from Cleveland. She said the Pittsburgh sisters would often visit with those from Cleveland. We then drove to see the Parliament and Senate buildings, the Cathedral of Holy Family which was visited by Pope St. John Paul II on May 6, 1980 and St. Monica which is run by Augustinian priests. Here we stopped to listen to the parish choir which was rehearsing songs and dance for a soon to be released CD. We also drove to the downtown area to see government buildings, the Senate, House of Representatives, and the darker side of Nairobi with its shanties as described earlier and low income neighborhoods.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:43:29 +0000
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