Is there a Future African Pope Out there?

As the Vicar of Christ comes to our shores it can be useful to cast a contemplative gaze  back over history. St John Paul II said that the twentieth century had seen the miracle of Africa and that the twenty-first had to see the miracle of Asia. There were approximately 100,000 Catholics in Africa in the year 1900, that number is now approaching 200 million. Since 1980 alone the Catholic Church in Africa has grown by 238%. Today missionaries are going from Kenya to Europe and other parts of the world. At the First Vatican Council in 1870 there were no African bishops present because there were none.  At the Second Vatican Council there were a handful, today there are hundreds  of African bishops, maybe even a thousand and sixteen African Cardinals.

The first missionaries to reach Kenya were Augustinian Friars in the sixteenth century. They set up base in Mombasa and the neighboring islands of Pemba and Lamu. These were important trade centres in those days. Eventually the Augustinian Friars became the Mombasa Martyrs and the seed of Christianity that was yet to come. Zanzibar was the most important trading centre along the African coast visited mainly by Arab and Chinese merchants. Often slaves were the most sought after merchandise. Much has been written about the slave trade off the West Coast of Africa but not so much is known about that of the East Coast which was quite substantial. The first diocese was set up in Zanzibar and it was from here that missionaries ventured inland which to a large extent at that time was virgin territory.

One of the first efforts of the missionaries was to buy the slaves, thereby giving them freedom and with it Christian instruction. The next missionary thrust came after Pius IX spoke of a new evangelization in the 1850s. Missionary orders in Europe began again to go all over the world. Parts of Africa were assigned to different orders. The Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers), both French and later Irish landed in Mombasa in 1898 and built the Cathedral which today is a landmark in the city. They evangelised the coast and then moved inland toward Nairobi. They were the first to evangelise Nairobi, building the first Catholic church there, St Austin’s parish in 1900. With it they also made the first coffee plantation in the area. Coffee is now a major product of Kenya.

They were followed shortly after by the Consolata Fathers from Italy who went to Nyeri. Mill Hill Fathers walked from Mombasa to Kisumu beside Lake Victoria, a journey of 1000 kilometres. The railway had not yet been built. They carried a small cross which today hangs in St Joseph’s parish in Milimani, Kisumu as a testimony of their pilgrimage. Along  the wall of the church is a map of their journey to remind all future Christians of the sacrifices made by their predecessors. White Fathers  (M.Afr.) came to this area also from Uganda. In the later years other orders were to have their influence, Kiltegan Fathers in Nakuru and Kitui. The Society of South African Missionaries and many others.

The ruling colonial power at this time was the United Kingdom. They were happy to have this evangelising influence, mainly because with the missionaries came schools and hospitals. The State got a relatively free service. Much of these influences helped to maintain peace.

The Mercy Sisters followed soon after, setting up the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Nairobi and others. The Medical Missionaries of Mary came too. The Loreto sisters set up a chain of the best schools for girls in the country. In this way the Catholic Church, along with other churches, played major role in the development of the country. It is interesting to see this close up, because it is the same story for many European countries although this part of history sometimes seems to have been conveniently forgotten there.

Many people think that apartheid was something associated with South Africa but it should not be forgotten that in those days apartheid was everywhere. The missionaries had to work within the system in helping the local people, or else not work at all. Relations with the governing power were mostly smooth but not always. Some Irish missionaries did not find it easy to work within a British system, but they were working for a higher ideal and a greater good.

The recent beatification of Consolata Sister Irene Stefanie, an Italian missionary in Nyeri around 1920, has highlighted some amusing stories. There were 600 Consolata Sisters in East Africa in the 1930s. They had learnt Kikuyu, the local language, needed to converse with the people. However the British insisted that the sisters know English so as to be able to talk with the school inspectors. This was a bit too much for the good Italian ladies and so in a clever Italian way they got one sister to learn English and she was produced whenever the inspector came to call.

Women in the history of the Church have done incredible things. The history of the Consolata Sisters in Kenya is a compelling story of heroism and constancy. It is an example of how people of the Church have promoted development everywhere. They came to Kenya in 1913 from Turin with nothing. Eventually they ran seventy mission stations in Nyeri before World War Two. As Italians they were interned as possible spies during the war. But they stayed and returned to their posts after the war. They had to fight lack of water, lack of food, and even the Mau Mau, who killed one sister.

It is easy to see how an army of women like this have contributed to the growth and development of a country. A knowledge of history reveals that something similar has happened in so many other countries. What these women achieved in such challenging circumstances should be known and read by many. A book on the history of the Consolata Sisters makes numerous references to the diaries kept by the sisters in each of the mission stations. They could not have  known what a historical testimony they would be corporately leaving as they wrote.

The recent beatification of Sr Irene Stefani in Nyeri is recognition by the Church of the work done. There are many other unsung heroes. Many of the stories of these beginnings are only now being written. Elderly missionaries now have the time and inclination to write. It is a glorious history.

I recently read the history of the Society of African Missions in West Africa. You would be hard pressed to find another history of such heroism. These books, now available in Nairobi should be on sale in every Catholic bookstore and the stories they tell taught in all Catholic schools all over the world. They do us proud.

Over time some policies changed. In 1958 the Prelature of Opus Dei arrived in Kenya. They wanted to open two inter-racial schools. They were received with abuse and ridicule. However St Josemaria Escriva stuck to his guns and said if this was not approved, they would pull out. Papers have been discovered in London about the “Strathmore Question”. It was clear that if inter-racial schools were approved this would have consequences for the Commonwealth. Eventually reason prevailed and Kianda School for Girls and Strathmore School for Boys, the first inter-racial schools in East Africa, were founded. They could only get land far out from the city and away from the white areas, but today the city has grown and it is not noticeable. The protagonists of this story are still alive.

Today the Catholic Church runs 30% of the hospitals in the country and many of the best schools. The Catholic population is about 40%. It is with this background that Pope Francis is coming to Kenya. The second Pope to visit, St John Paul II came three times, the last was in 1995, exactly twenty years ago. I recently visited a nursing home in Ireland where 130 sisters, doctors and nurses, are living out their days, having spent decades running medical services in Africa. Pope Francis has a right to hope that something similar will be seen in Kenya forty years from now, when a successor of his, perhaps from this part of the world pays a papal visit.