It is early one morning and a child on the shore spots the ship before anyone else, shouting to greet its arrival. Women begin to gather with babies strapped to their backs. Somewhere inside a crumbling church a bell rings — not for worship — but for medicine. This is the quiet, but powerful work of a long-standing partnership led by the African Inland Church Tanzania and Vine Trust.
Read MoreThe murders this past May in Kenya of two Catholic priests reflecst a global context in which clergy, who have always lived among the poor and on the peripheries, are now being hunted. In many areas around the world where the state has receded, faith often becomes the last visible institution — and the first to be attacked. From the Americas to Africa, religious workers have become marked men and women.
Read MoreIn the heart of Nairobi’s Mukuru slum, where corrugated iron shacks gleam under the equatorial sun, Sister Mary Killeen has woven a legacy of hope. Known as the “Mother Teresa of Nairobi,” this Dublin-born Sister of Mercy has spent nearly five decades transforming lives in one of Kenya’s most impoverished areas.
Read MoreThroughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Christianity flowed from Europe and North America to Africa, often carried by missionaries. But in the 21st century, the pattern has reversed. African-led churches are now sending their own missionaries abroad, and many are planting churches in many former colonial capitals.
Read MoreTowering on top of one of the many hills that overlook Lodwar, is a gigantic statue of Jesus Christ with His hands spread apart. It is a mirror image of the iconic Christ The Redeemer sculpture that defines Rio de Jenairo. The statue’s appeal goes beyond its architectural dimensions and spiritual importance. It has also emerged as a charming tourist magnet and iconic local landmark.
Read MoreIn one Kenyan church, most of the congregants were deaf, as were the choristers and choirmaster. The singing was muted — only lips moved, while bodies swayed with swan-like grace — while hands waved to the delightful rhythm of the drum beats. Even the minister, the Rev. George Obonyo, is deaf.
Read MoreAs Ruto’s regime enters a new year struggling to win public acceptance, it is clear that the voice of the Catholic bishops is back and their political clout will increasingly reverberate in the corridors of power.. “A culture of lies is swiftly replacing integrity and respect in government,” said Bishop Dominic Kimengich of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, adding, “Kenyans deserve better!”
Read MoreAs the rattle of gunfire and the spirited sloganeering raged on in the streets, Gen Zers opened a new theater in this fight: training their rage on the church for allegedly working with the state. They have accused church officials of being subservient to the political class.
Read MoreSplinter Catholic movements within Kenya have gradually found their voice in the country’s religious scene and have maintained a steady following despite strong opposition from conservative voices in the local Catholic Church. The rise of the breakaway Catholic churches traces its roots to the May 2006 wedding of ex-Catholic priest Godfrey Shiundu to a former nun.
Read MoreTucked away in the mountain range of the Kenyan Rift Valley, amid flourishing forests overlooking the vibrant little town of Subukia lies a Marian shrine. This special Catholic site dedicated to prayer regularly hosts of thousands of pilgrims from many parts of the world. It is also the source of the legendary water of the Subukia Shrine.
Read MoreThe little settlement of Kijabe, about a two-hour drive northwest from Nairobi, stands out as the only drug- and alcohol-free town in Kenya thanks to the legacy of American missionaries that arrived here over a century ago. In fact, the spiritual footprints of Rev. Charles E. Hurlburt are still visible in this part of Africa.
Read MoreCatholics in Kenya commemorated the life of American missionary John Anthony Kaiser, a Catholic priest and human rights defender. He was particularly vocal in condemning politically motivated tribal clashes during the 1990s and whose assassination in the year 2000 shocked the country.
Read MoreKenya’s Conference of Catholic Bishops said it opposes the sex education content in the country’s primary education curriculum, citing flaws in the curriculum’s “permissive” framing and design. The bishops have further said the curriculum’s content would contribute to the rate of teen pregnancies and exacerbate moral decline in the East African country.
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