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Kenyan Superior General Urges Newly Professed Nuns to “deepen personal, community prayer” During 2025 Jubilee Year

ACI Africa

By ACI Africa

Nairobi, 07 January, 2025 / 11:57 pm (ACI Africa).

The Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year gives women Religious an opportunity to “deepen” their communion with God in prayer, both communal and especially personal, the Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega (SMK) that is headquartered in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Kakamega has said.

In an interview with ACI Africa on the sideline of the Religious Profession of 13 SMK members on Monday, January 6, Sr. Josepha Anjeline Atswele lauded Pope Francis for the 2025 Jubilee Year initiative, which she said calls for the fostering of hope among various groups of the people of God, including youths, the elderly, the sick, and the marginalized, among others.

“In Consecrated Life, we depend on prayer for support,” Sr. Josepha said. During the 2025 Jubilee Year, she emphasized, “I will encourage the Sisters to deepen both their personal and community prayer lives.”

The newly professed Sisters “must focus on strengthening both their personal prayer life and their communal life,” the SMK Superior General told ACI Africa referring to the six Sisters, who took their First Vows and the seven others, who made their Perpetual Profession at the celebration the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen presided over at SMK Mukumu Mother House in Kakamega Diocese.

She emphasized the need for the Consecrated to nurture a life of prayer explaining, “As an individual, I may not be successful or faithful alone. I may seek comfort outside, but if you are committed to prayer personally and also as a community, you can support each other; you come back from serving and trust each other enough to share your experiences.”

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Trust and shared prayer are foundational to overcoming isolation, Sr. Josepha said, and added, “Without trust or communal prayer, you may not share, and that leads to loneliness and spiritual disconnection.”

“I will also encourage the Sisters to visit prisoners, as they have been given their opportunity to celebrate the Jubilee,” she said about SMK members, who are serving in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the United States of America, “witnessing to the Gospel and pursuing perfect Charity by following Jesus Christ in living community life.”

She added, “We have assigned two Sisters to the Kakamega prisons, and we visit regularly to celebrate with the prisoners. It is important to reach out to those who might otherwise feel forgotten.”

In the January 6 interview with ACI Africa, the SMK Superior General lauded the 2025 Jubilee Year initiative as inclusive. She said, “This time, all groups have been included, and I am particularly glad that consecrated women, like myself, have been recognized in this celebration.”

Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica before Mass on Christmas Eve, officially launching the 2025 Jubilee Year.

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Kenyan Superior General Urges Newly Professed Nuns to “deepen personal, community prayer” During 2025 Jubilee Year

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Earlier, he had announced the start of a Year of Prayer on 21 January 2024 in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.

The Holy Father said that the 2025 Jubilee Year will be “a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

On the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on 9 May 2024, Pope Francis solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he delivered the Bull of Indiction of the planned Jubilee, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).

The Jubilee Year provides the people of God across the globe an opportunity to participate in various planned jubilee events at the Vatican and in their respective Episcopal Sees and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).

In separate interviews with ACI Africa, three SMK members, who made their Perpetual Profession said they were excited to celebrate their lifelong decision to dedicate their lives to God’s service at the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

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Sr. Mary Mildred Alebot Imolet shared her desire “pray more” during the 2025 Jubilee Year. She explained, “As Christians, we believe in the power of prayer. Through it, we find answers and strength to overcome difficulties.”

Sr. Mary Mildred highlighted the other benefits of life in communion with God through prayer, saying prayer not only unites people but also serves as a foundation for hope and charity, which she recognized as pillars of the 2025 Jubilee Year.

The native of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Bungoma stressed the important place of charity in society, and appealed, "Wherever you are, whether as a teacher, a doctor, or in any other role, be charitable."

“Our charity should not only be directed at our immediate circle but also reach the most vulnerable in society: orphans, the fatherless, and widows,” the SMK member said, adding, “As a student, I am first a Sister; a Sister who is a student. Wherever I go, I practice the pillars of prayer, hope, and charity.”

She continued, “In my school, my community, and among the people I meet, I must live these values.”

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In another interview, Sr. Maria Shisiali told ACI Africa that the making of Perpetual Profession deepens her spiritual life.

“This year encourages us to engage in acts of mercy, like visiting the sick and walking alongside the vulnerable,” Sr. Maria said, referring to the 2025 Jubilee Year.

“Such acts will add great value to my prayer life,” the SMK member, who hails from Kakamega Diocese said.

As women Religious, she went on to say, “we face many challenges. This Jubilee Year gives us the strength to handle those difficulties.”

On her part, Sr. Mary Josephine Aheso, a native of Uganda’s Soroti Catholic Diocese, said, “God has blessed me greatly, especially as the entire Church celebrates the Jubilee Year.”

The theme of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, Sr. Mary Josephine said, “enhances my faith and trust in God. It reminds me that hope never disappoints, and I have resolved to hold on to that hope, regardless of the challenges I face.”

“I have resolved never to lose hope, no matter the difficulties. My hope will remain in God, who has called me to this vocation,” the SMK member told ACI Africa on January 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of Lord.