Plans Underway in Kenya to Celebrate 79th Death Anniversary of Legion of Mary Pioneer

"We also have a novena going on from 4th May to 12th May," Fr. Kariuki said about the May 13 event that will begin with Holy Mass to be presided over by Bishop George Muthaka of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Garissa.

The Kenyan Catholic Priest who also serves as the Chaplain of the Nairobi-based Kenyatta University (KU) said representatives of legionaries in Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi will be in attendance. 

The Irish-born Servant of God Frank Duff formed the first praesidium (basic unit of the association at Parish level) of the Legion of Mary on 7 September 1921.

In 1936, Edel Quinn, a native of Kanturk, Co. Cork in Ireland, was appointed Legion of Mary Envoy to East Africa, mandated to oversee the establishment of the association in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Mauritius. 

She died in Nairobi on 12 May 1944, and was laid to rest at St. Austin’s Mission Cemetery.

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In 1957 the Local Ordinary of Nairobi, Archbishop John Joseph McCarthy started off the Diocesan process of Edel Quinn's canonization. Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable on 15 December 1994.

In the May 10 interview with ACI Africa, the Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary in Kenya recalled that although Venerable Edel Quinn experienced ill health, she worked “tirelessly as the first envoy of the Legion of Mary, to establish Praesidia (basic unit in the Parish) and councils in East and Central Africa and as far as South Africa."

He added that the legionaries have been encouraged to participate in the May 13 anniversary celebration to “pray earnestly for a miracle that Edel may be declared blessed. This is because one attested miracle attributed to her intercession is required for her beatification.”

“We would be overjoyed for a legionary to go a step further in the ranks of sainthood in the church,” the Kenyan Catholic Priest said, adding, “We have two other causes: Servant of God Frank Duff – the founder; and Servant of God Alfie Lambe – envoy of the Legion of Mary to South America.”

In May, the month dedicated to Mary, legionaries in Kenya pray “through her intercession for peace in Africa and in the world, especially in Sudan”, Fr. Kariuki said told ACI Africa during the May 10 interview. 

He added, “We encourage the members to consecrate themselves to Mary following the spirituality of St Louis Marie de Montfort, take part in annual spiritual retreats, and recite daily the Catena Legioni (The Magnificat), the prayer of Our Lady which is their bond of union.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.