Final Pilgrimage for Active Parishioner Who Died While Dressing Up for Mass at National Marian Shrine in Kenya

“Marcella came here as a pilgrim. What she did not know, and what all of us here did not know, it was meant to be her final pilgrimage,” Archbishop Muhatia said.

“This explains the destiny of all human life because all human life is a pilgrimage to the Father,” the Archbishop of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu said, and added, “All our activities, our experience of faith… is life on pilgrimage.”

Marcella, he said, “died while dressing after she took a shower to join the rest of the pilgrims in the celebration of Holy Mass.”

“The Lord picked her from our midst at this village of Mary,” Archbishop Muhatia said. 

He noted that it is the desire by many to have a death like that of Marcella, adding, “All the sorrow notwithstanding, who would not like to die like this, surrounded by the community of faith?”

Pilgrims at Subukia National Marian Shrine on Saturday, October 5 Credit: ACI Africa

Marcella died surrounded by pilgrims, the KCCB Chairman said, and added, “She has died on this mountain, the place where Mama Marcella has gone surrounded by us is the destiny of all of us who are pilgrims.”

Members of Mivumoni Catholic Parish, who travelled on Marcella’s bus told ACI Africa that the middle-aged woman was bubbly on the trip and never showed any signs of what awaited her.

Mary Ndanu and Mercy Mutua described Marcella as an active member of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) all the way from Magodi outstation where the two are members.

Mary Ndanu (right) and Mercy Mitua at Subukia National Marian Shrine on Saturday, October 5 Credit: ACI Africa

Apart from her active participation in the CWA, Marcella never missed any Church service, “unless she was down with an illness,” Mary said.

“Mama Marcella really loved the Church. Her home was just across the road from church, and she was always there, helping with one thing or the other at the church,” she said.

Mercy added, “We never knew that Mama Marcella was unwell because she was very cheerful all the way to Subukia.”

On Friday, October 4, however, when other members of the Parish arrived at Subukia and immediately started scaling the mountain at the Shrine on the Way of the Cross, Marcella opted to stay in the bus instead.

Pilgrims at Subukia National Marian Shrine on Saturday, October 5 Credit: ACI Africa

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“Still, we didn’t think that her remaining behind was cause for alarm because she naturally didn’t walk for long distances,” Mercy told ACI Africa.

In his homily, Archbishop Muhatia expressed solidarity with the Archdiocese of Mombasa for losing one of their own. 

He said, “We pray for her soul, and join the Archdiocese of Mombasa and the entire Metropolitan in mourning this pilgrim who has reached the destination of all pilgrimages of the Christian faithful, the home of the eternal Father.”

The Metropolitan Province of Mombasa that includes the Dioceses of Malindi and Garissa, and the Archdiocese of Mombasa animated this year’s National Prayer Day at the shine that is under the auspices of KCCB.

More than 9,000 pilgrims arrived at Subukia from the Metropolitan Province of Mombasa alone. Organizers of the pilgrimage said that of the 9,000 pilgrims, over 3,500 were choir members at the event that was also held to celebrate 50 years of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) in the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). 

A section of pilgrims from the Metropolitan Province of Mombasa animating the Saturday, October 5 Holy Mass at Subukia National Pilgrimage Credit: ACI Africa

To describe the high number of pilgrims, the AMECEA Pastoral Coordinator, Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo, told ACI Africa, “There are just so many people. I think there are over 50,000 people gathered here at Subukia today.”

“I came here yesterday (Friday, October 4) and saw that the place was already full of pilgrims, who started their journey two or three days ago, some travelling on foot. They showed immense commitment to their prayers, starting with a vigil last night, and their personal and group prayers, including the Way of the Cross,” the Nairobi-based Malawian Catholic Priest told ACI Africa on the sidelines of the October 4 celebration.

Fr. Chimombo said that representatives from the various AMECEA countries “who camped” at Subukia made the pilgrimage even more memorable.