Hundreds of Catholic faithful and mourners from other denominations today gathered at the Holy Family Minor Basilica in Nairobi for the requiem mass of His Holiness, the late Pope Francis, to pray for the eternal repose of his soul.
The Apostolic Nuncio, the Pope’s Representative to Kenya, Hubertus Maria Van Megen, presided over the Mass that was attended by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Nairobi, Rev. Phillip Anyolo and several bishops described Pope Francis as a true disciple of the Lord.
Van Megen said Pope Francis, who has left a void behind, was full of fatherly love and will be remembered for his legacy as a Servant of God who identified with the downtrodden in society like refugees, prisoners, drug addicts and the poor.
He said throughout his life, the Pope identified with the voiceless, the rejected and the poor and urged those who truly want to follow in his footsteps to become his voice, to speak for the voiceless and to defend them through advocating for peace and justice.
“Pope Francis, a child of Italian immigrants, started at a tender age to fight for peace by building bridges between people and between God and humanity,” he said.
Van Megen said the Pope showed fatherly care for the weak and wounded as he understood that humanity is a battlefield where people are wounded and that the church had to take its role of a battlefield hospital, taking care of the wounded.
Archbishop Van Megen said during his papacy, as a shepherd of the outcast, the poor and the forgotten he had never changed his desire for people to always live in a fraternity of brotherhood.
The Nuncio stated that Pope Francis, who was ‘mercifully chosen by God’ through the priestly Order of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, repeatedly uttered that he was a child of mercy, adding that “He knew he was called to priesthood through the love of God.”
“During his papacy, the two words that he kept on preaching were mercy and tenderness,” said the Nuncio who described Francis as a humble servant of the Lord.
Van Megen said the solemn Mass the Pope offered during his visit to Kenya in November 2015, which has entered into the history book of the country, called for solidarity, equal distribution of resources and love for the less fortunate in society.
The Nuncio said Pope Francis, who visited 68 countries, never managed to visit his home country in Argentina because for him every place was home and added that through the visits he chose to walk with the people at the periphery of life, the neglected and rejected.
Archbishop Anyolo said Pope Francis was not only a Vicar of Christ but a voice for Christians in the entire world and urged people to uphold the values of mercy, peace and justice in their daily lives as preached by the Pope.
“We gather here as a family of faith to commemorate a true shepherd who loved justice, service in the church and humanity with compassion and grace,” said Archbishop Anyolo.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who spoke at the Mass, described Pope Francis as a servant of God who truly walked in the path of Jesus, noting that despite his position as a Head of State and Head of the Catholic Church, he never chose to walk with the high and mighty.
“This is a true example of a servant leader. He chose to deliver to save, not to be saved. Wherever he went, he told people to pray for him,” said Uhuru.
He described Pope Francis as a leader who wanted the vulnerable to be given solace and dignity, saying that he will always remember the greatness of the Pope.
“I had the pleasure to meet him twice. When I met him in my office in Nairobi, I witnessed that when he engages with a person, he will always go out in search of the person and make follow-ups on the matter they had discussed, yet he is a leader of billions of people,” said Uhuru.
Pope Francis, aged 88, who passed away on April 22nd this year at the Vatican in Rome, will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Vatican in Rome.
The congregation’s presence was a sign of unity, faith and gratitude for the life and ministry of Pope Francis, who served the church with humility, compassion and unwavering dedication.
The Mass was attended by Chief Justice Martha Koome, Members of Parliament, Senators, Ambassadors, High Commissioners, members of the Diplomatic Corps, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, senior government officials among others.
By Bernadette Khaduli
