Pope Francis Rootedness in Church Peripheries “a Mother Teresa moment”: Kenyan Priest

“The Holy Father doesn't hesitate to go on his knees to kiss the feet of warring leaders in South Sudan in a passionate appeal for reconciliation,” the Kenyan Catholic Priest says, recalling the 11 April 2019 dramatic gesture when Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of President Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Dr. Riek Machar, among other South Sudanese political leaders at the Vatican.

Pope Francis, Fr. Luchidio says, “goes ahead to remove his shoes at the door of an Imam to engage in conversation. He lovingly allows children to be comfortable around him, even during Mass and says that it is the humility of children that Jesus wants."

Just like St. Teresa of Calcutta who founded “The Missionaries of Charity”, with the primary task of loving and caring for “those persons nobody was prepared to look after”, Pope Francis has been deeply passionate about reaching out to what he describes as geographical and existential peripheries.

Fr. Luchidio who coordinates the work of Priests working in Kenya’s hardship territories shared “the biggest lessons” on the mission to the peripheries as the Church prepares to celebrate the March 13 10 years of Pope Francis’ Pontificate.

In the March 7 interview, the member of the Clergy of Kenya’s Kakamega Diocese urged the people of God to learn from Pope Francis lessons on the mission to the peripheries. This, they can do by venturing into remote places where people feel neglected and reaching out to those who feel they do not belong, including the sinners and the poor.

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“Pope Francis himself is a perfect example of the Church on the peripheries. He says he is a man from the farthest end, hinting that his own home is in the global south. I believe that from the very point of his election, the Church started bringing the peripheries to the center,” he told ACI Africa. 

With the Holy Father’s passion for the Church on the fringes of society, every baptized Christian is reminded of their missionary mandate, Fr. Luchdio says.

Additionally, the people of God are reminded that the Church is missionary by nature, the PMS Kenya Director says, and adds, “Pope Francis reminds us to be on our feet and go where we are needed. And he doesn't hesitate to show us the places where we are needed.”

Fr. Luchidio cites the Holy Father saying, “‘Let our hearts be filled with those who are in need’ and ‘Let our eyes recognize Jesus in those who are in need’ and also ‘Let our feet take us to those people who are in need’. He insists that we regard the Church with our hearts, our eyes, and to act on our feet."

According to the Kenyan Catholic Priest, it is not just enough for the baptized Christian to go to Church on Sunday but to also move and reach out to the people in need. “Smile to them; it may drive away their despair,” he says.

To Fr. Luchidion, Pope Francis is a Catholic Church leader who helped him in his evangelization mission to Kenya’s remotest places.

“Pope Francis helped me to conquer my biggest fears in venturing to the peripheries. I have gone to the remotest parts of Kenya, be it in Turkana where people are caught up in an endless cycle of poverty, drought, and starvation, be it Kibish on the Kenyan border with Ethiopia where we continue to mediate for reconciliation between pastoralist communities,” Fr. Luchidio says.

He continues, “I don't just want to be told by those who have been there; I want to experience the challenges of the people myself. I don’t want to remain static. Pope Francis challenges me to be always energized to move forward to the Church peripheries. If early missionaries chose to stay in one place, the word of God wouldn't have penetrated to the ends of the earth.”

Meanwhile, Pope Francis’ initiative of the Synodal process and his approach to the same is one of the things about the Holy Father that strikes Fr. Luchidio the most.

“What Pope Francis talks about closeness and togetherness strikes me. He says that Synodality is about being close to those who we journey with. He makes us understand that we need to be close to the wounded Church and move with them. We need to listen to them and understand them. That we need to get out of ourselves and understand others,” the Catholic Priest says.

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Pope Francis also addresses the commonality of all people and looks at Church as a family of God, Fr. Luchidio says, and adds, “The Holy Father has been very passionate about Ukraine and Russia and would wish to see the two countries stop fighting.”

“On his trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was evident that he desired to see a family torn apart come together,” the PMS National Director in Kenya says, recalling Pope Francis’ 31 January-5 February 2023 trip, his third pastoral visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, that had been postponed.

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.