Kenyan Catholic Families in UK Seeking to Foster African Way of Being Church

The mother of two young adults recalled her input on “the Exhortation of St. John Paul II in 1980 when he defined the role and responsibility of the lay in the Church, which led to the founding of the CWA.”

“I also spoke about St. Monica as the Patron saint of CWA,” Ms. Muchiri who is a volunteer Coordinator of the African Catholic Legislators Network (ACLN) told ACI Africa and acknowledged Archbishop emeritus Peter Kairu as “the patron of CWA-UK who has done so much to give them (members of CWA-UK) ongoing formation.”

She explained the genesis of CWA UK saying, “Besides SCCs, a group of Kenyan women found it better to come together as an association to have an identity of CWA, and through their social networks they were able to attract other (Kenyan) women to join the association.”

“They (CWA) insist on remaining Catholics with the Catholic faith they received when back at home in Africa,” Ms. Muchiri said and added in reference to Catholic African living in the UK, “They have carried the African Catholic faith and inspirations to the UK.”

Ms. Muchiri who is also a social entrepreneur and serves at the Nairobi-based Secretariat of Catholic Members of Parliament on voluntary terms expressed her appreciation for the efforts Kenyan Catholics in western countries are making to keep their Christian faith.

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“It is important to see our Kenyans in the West bringing up their children in the faith,” she said.

“While in UK I also attended a thanksgiving Mass for the Ugandan Community (for one of the African Priest's Silver Jubilee of priesthood) in London which was celebrated by our own Archbishop Peter Kairu,” Ms. Muchiri recalled.

“Again, this brought out the beauty the Ugandans too have carried to the UK from an African Catholic cultural perspective,” she said and added, “It reminded me on the inculturation of our faith that came with the African Synod.”

According to a variety of reports, there are well over 200,000 Kenyans living in the UK.