“Season of weddings” for Kenyan Catholic Parish as 50 Couples United in Family Day Celebration

“The Archbishop promised to journey with those who desired to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony. In November last year, 50 couples adhered to the Archbishop’s call and expressed their desire to solemnize their marriages. They were registered and we started journeying with them up to this moment,” Mr. Mwangi said, adding that the 50 had been fully prepared by the Parish Priest for the Sacrament of Matrimony.  

The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) had also helped the couples with obtaining marriage certificates from the government, as is required by the Kenyan law, Mr. Mwangi said.

In his appeal to other parishioners at All Saints Catholic Parish to follow the example of the 50 couples that were receiving the Sacrament of Matrimony, Mr. Mwangi said, “We have many Christians who are yet to solemnize their marriages. We urge them to do everything that is necessary to receive the sacrament of matrimony, and to live all the Sacraments that are necessary for a Catholic.”

Established in 1901, All Saints Riara Catholic Parish is the second oldest in the present-day ADN, coming after St. Austin’s Msongari Parish, which was started by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers/CSSp.), who arrived in Nairobi on 12 August 1899.

“Our 6am. bell has been ringing for 122 years now,” Fr. Maichuhie said, recalling the long way the Kenyan Catholic Parish had come.

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“We celebrate 122 years of faith during which our Parish has grown immensely,” Fr. Maichuhie said, adding that over the years, the Parish had produced several other Parishes that make up the ADN.

Today, he said, All Saints Riara Catholic Parish has eight outstations and 68 Small Christian Communities (SCCs).

“This is a very busy Parish in terms of the pastoral activities we engage in. Our Christians are deeply rooted in the faith. One of the ways they show this is by their financial contributions to keep the parish running,” the Parish Priest said.

He added that the Parish had also produced numerous members to Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), who he said are working in different parts of Kenya and even outside the East African nation. 

In his homily during the November 3 celebration, Archbishop Anyolo underlined the importance of Christian families, noting that Church marriages in particular are a gift from God.

“Through Holy Matrimony, we get a generation that seeks the face of the Lord,” he said, and added, “The family is a great gift, not just to the Church, but to the entire humanity and to God.”

The Local Ordinary of the ADN said that the November 3 event was a celebration of God’s love in families.

Describing love as “the act of giving”, Archbishop Anyolo told the couples, “Even saint Francis says that it is in giving that we receive. Giving doesn't imply that we don't have needs of our own. We give because God has given us.”

“It is in total giving of ourselves that we receive a family,” he further said, and urged the newly-weds to always desire to seek the face of the Lord in their marriages.

Archbishop Anyolo said that God’s “biggest gift” to the Church are families founded on Holy Matrimony.

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He urged the newly-weds to always seek to be mindful of one another, and explained, “Give everything in honesty, in trust and in love. Do not betray one another. You betray God when you decide to betray your partner.”

In his prayer for the 50 couples that solemnized their marriage during the November 3 celebration, Archbishop Anyolo said, “May they receive special blessings so that they live in a way that pleases God.”

“May God give them strength to conquer anything that will be an obstacle in the life they are choosing today,” the Kenyan Catholic Archbishop further implored.

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.