KENYA: Cleric Recognizes “Servant of God Cardinal Otunga” as Role Model for the Church

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

At a memorial Mass for the Servant of God, Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga on Monday, September 6, a Kenyan cleric has recognized His Eminence as a person who served the Church with total dedication and a role model.

“Cardinal Otunga was and is still a role model for the Church and the country,” the Vice Postulator for the cause of beatification and canonization of the late Cardinal, Fr. Lawrence Njoroge, said in his sermon at Holy Mass to mark the 18^th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God.

Comparing his life to that of Apostle Paul, the Vice Postulator noted that as the saint suffered for the sake of the Church and was convince to fulfill his mission through God’s power, the servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga “Loved the Church dearly… and served trusting in God’s providence, goodness and graciousness.”

When all was well for Saint. Paul, the cleric who lectures at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) said, “Even when he was in anguish, Cardinal Otunga suffered having the Church in mind and heart.”

Fr Njoroge shared his observation with the congregants during the televised event saying, “When Cardinal Otunga was in good health, he used his energy to serve the Church. When he was experiencing challenges of health, he still worked and offered his suffering for the Church.”

After the death of Cardinal Otunga on 6 September 2003, the former Archbishop of Nairobi John Cardinal Njue, petitioned his cause to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for canonization in Rome and the process commenced in 2009.

Fr. Njoronge described further during the Holy Eucharist presided over by the Apostolic Administrator of Nairobi Archdiocese Bishop David Kamau Ng’ang’a that the Servant of God was “a generous man, simple and yet he owned great dignity.”

“Cardinal Otunga embraced the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity,” Bishop Kamau narrated adding that the Servant of God was a man who nurtured people’s vocation not only to priesthood but also to Religious and married life.”

According to the Vice Postulator who was appointed in December 2019, the beatification process of Cardinal Otunga who could be the first Kenyan saint if canonized “is in the hands of the Postulator in Rome.”

He asked the Christians to continue praying for the beatification process, for extra-ordinary miracle but also to continue offering financial support and to be patient.

Speaking at the same event, Sr. Esther Ichugu the Administrator of the office of the Causes of Saints in Nairobi Archdiocese reminded the Christians to own the beatification process and take the responsibility to financially support the Church towards the cause.

Sr. Ichugu a member of the Dimesse Sisters of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI) appreciated the support received so far since the commencement of the process and called on Christians to continue working in collaboration.