KENYA: Kenya’s First Cardinal who Exuded Holiness, hailed as the ‘Man of Many First Hats’.
A side-view of Cardinal Otunga's Memorial Hall which archives his personal artifacts.
Elizabeth Asasha
As the Catholic faithful prepare to commemorate the 20th memorial anniversary of Kenya’s first bishop and Cardinal, Servant of God (SOG) Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga, many continue to hail the man of God who is on course for sainthood.
In a series of interviews conducted at the Resurrection Garden on Thursday, August 16, Christians, among them key actors in the late Cardinal’s cause for canonization described him as the “Man of Many Premiere Hats” who exuded holiness in life and in death while citing the favors and miracles received by many through his intercession
“I have no doubt that Maurice Cardinal Otunga was a good and holy man, and that a good and holy man recently lived among us,” said Fr. Prof. Lawrence Njoroge expressing his stout belief in the virtue of the late man of God through the trademark maxim he has held since he was appointed Vice Postulator of the SOG’s Sainthood Cause in December 2019.
The diocesan priest in Nairobi Archdiocese described the late Servant of God as the “The man who wears many First Hats” stating that the course to his canonization as the first Kenyan saint will add to the many premiere accolades of the Bungoma-born son of paramount chieftain, Wasike Lusweti Sudi Namachanja and Rosa Namisi who hail from the Bahone clan of Bukusu tribe in Western Kenya.
“The day that the Servant of God (SOG) Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga will be declared a saint, it is going to be another first because he already holds many first-rate titles; as the first bishop in Kenya, the first Cardinal, he also the first Kenyan and African to serve in the Finance Committee in the Vatican and this is rarely mentioned,” said the clergy expressing optimism in the Beatification process of Cardinal Otunga, who was among the founding fathers of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA).
It was a moment to recount fond memories for those spoke to Capuchin television Thursday morning as they chronicled holy and heroic virtues of the first Kenyan Cardinal remembered by many as a great minister and a devoted pastor in the history of the Catholic church in Kenya.
Joan Atieno Odawa, a member of the Central Committee for the Beatification Cause, stated, “I knew the Servant of God as our shepherd, he was our teacher, our pastor, a role model, and a voice for the voiceless.”
Atieno adds to the long list of Kenyans who continue to attest to the aura of holiness that the late Cardinal exuded, an aura that those who interacted with him liken to that which permeates the Cardinal Otunga Memorial Chapel at the Resurrection Garden, which is regarded as one of the late Cardinal’s pivotal legacies and where his mortal remains and personal artifacts are preserved in a Memorial Hall.
“Being next to him you would just feel that sense of holiness coming from him typical of the divine presence of God, and that is exactly what I perceived when I stepped into this Chapel, it’s not the same as being next to anybody else, it is different.” revealed Atieno, who was part of the steering committee for the late SOG’s final farewell.
In a separate interview, Njoroge, a professor of Development Studies and Ethics who delivered the homily at Cardinal Otunga’s Funeral Mass, officiated by Tanzanian Cardinal Polycarp Pengo on September 19, 2003, reaffirmed Atieno’s statement saying, “I can even feel the spirit of the SOG exactly where we are.”
“I gave a brief sermon about who the servant of God was to us and why the SOG continues to be an inspiration to the people and faithful in Kenya, as well as to East Africa and beyond. We had a person whose impact and goodness go beyond the boundaries of this country.”
According to Fr. Njoroge, his interaction with the people of Bungoma during a two-week visit compiling the SOG’s biography stamped his conviction that the venerated Bukusu prelate promoted more than just family values.
Cardinal Otunga is vastly chronicled one who diligently supported holistic education for both boys and girls, and strived to fortify the family institution with unparallel generosity.
“The Servant of God had a special regard for the institution of the family; he believed that we are God’s family, and one cannot speak of the SOG without bringing in the idea and reality of a Christian family and of God’s people as a Family.” The current chaplain at St. Augustine Juja and JKUAT Catholic Chaplaincy Parish in Kiambu, Kenya, Prof. Njoroge, reiterated that “We owe Cardinal Otunga a Great Debt of Gratitude because without the family, there is no society and one of the major aspects of the SOG’s apostolates was the promotion of good family values.”
“He mainly was interested in Family so he would ask you how is your family? How are you getting along? How are your children, how is your husband and when asking these questions, he would look directly into your eyes?” Recalled Atieno and referred to the tete-a-tete encounter with the revered man of God as a “Mystery Experience.”
During the in-depth discussion, Fr. Njoroge observed that people revere the Servant of God in all regions of the world, including Australia, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America.
The late Australian physicians John Billings and his wife Evelyn Livingston Billings, renowned for inventing the Billings Ovulation Method, a natural method of family planning recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1978, were among the overseas family life experts who traveled to Kenya at Cardinal Otunga’s invitation.
The memoirs were replete with laudatory remarks about the SOG’s kindness and humility that extended to children, “The SOG was a very generous and kind person; he helped people and never abandoned them in their difficulties,” Fr. Njoroge said of the prelate who succumbed to Cardiac arrest aged 80 on September 6, 2003 at Mater Misericordia Hospital, Nairobi after serving the church for fifty-three years as a priest, a bishop, and a cardinal.
“When things were going well the servant of God was there with you, and one someone was going through agony, the SOG was present.” He added.
The Servant of God whose apostolate, demeanor and spiritual life bespoke of humility demonstrated the highest level of self-effacement when he left his Cardinalate Residence in Lavington, Nairobi and moved to the home for the elderly upon his retirement as Archbishop of Nairobi in 1997.
John Simiyu, whose paternal grandfather had sibling ties to the Servant of God, nostalgically narrated the story of a grandpa-grandson bond that grew stronger after his first letter to His Eminence Otunga, who would respond promptly, “When I was ready to get married, my wife-to-be and I visited the SOG at Nyumba ya Wazee (Home to the Elderly) in Ruaraka to seek his blessings, since then we developed a close personal bond with him and we made it a routine to visit him at the home every last Saturday of the month, sit together at the verandah, crack jokes and laugh, we were always happy in his company.”
Atieno acknowledged that the SOG “never laughed out loudly, but he would instead give slight grin and he made us feel at home whenever we encountered him.”
“If you visited the SOG at his home in Lavington, one of the things he did was to welcome you and he would personally serve you tea and biscuits, that was his signature. He never called what people call house workers, cooks, or servants to come and do that, he would do that himself and could clearly see its origin while interacting with his family.” Noted the Catholic priest educing that the late man of God’s family members “mirrored” his charity.
One of Cardinal Otunga’s greatest accomplishments, according to the priest who served as his substantive secretary for education in 1981 and 1982, was the advancement of Catholic education.
Fr. Njoroge urged the faithful to pray “seriously and fervently” for the SOG promotion to the level of Venerable, referring to the first Kenyan Cardinal’s canonization as a “Kairos” and pinnacle moment for our nation as it would mark the first time in history that a son of this soil, a son of our own land of Kenya, will be included in the Universal Calendar of Saints of the Catholic Church and we would be able to mention his name as a saint
“For me there cannot be a greater first, “Kairos” the highest possible moment in our country and we are looking forward to and praying seriously for that day.” He added.
Nairobi Achdiocese’s Local Ordinary, His Grace Philip Subira Anyolo, who is the petitioner to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Causes of Saints, continues to appeal to Christians throughout the nation to pray ardently for the SOG’s elevation to the rank of Venerable as many faithful express hope for Cardinal Maurice Michael Otunga’s path to sainthood, whose climax will see him crowned another “first hat” as the first native saint in the East African region.
“Our Archbishop Philip Anyolo is inviting us to pray in a very serious manner so that the SOG is promoted to the next level,” Prof. Njoroge petitioned, disclosing that SOG’s Office of Beatification has fulfilled all the requirements for the advancement to the next level and that they are currently waiting to hear from the Rome-based Dicastery for Sainthood.
“We would like to mark this twentieth anniversary in a very special way as an act of thanksgiving to God because of the gift of the SOG Maurice Cardinal Otunga who was God’s special gift to us in Kenya.” Said the clergy at the Resurrection Garden, a sacred shrine that continues to attract local and international pilgrims who come to pray and to see the resting place of the Kenyan man who donned many first ecclesiastical hats.
Upon his death in 2003, His Eminence Maurice Cardinal Otunga was interred at St. Austin’s Mission Cemetery in honor of the prelate’s Will, but two years later, His Mortal remains were transferred to the Resurrection Garden. The move was postulated on space concerns and the Resurrection Garden propounded as an ideal place to preserve the SOG’s remains since it is “a statement of what he believed in.”
“When the resurrection comes, the SOG would be resurrected from the Resurrection Garden that he created.” Noted Prof. Njoroge.
Prof. Lawrence Njoroge is the conduit between the Catholic church in Kenya (Archbishop Philip Anyolo and the faithful) and the Vatican Dicastery for Causes of Saints as the Vice-Postulator in Cardinal Otunga’s Beatification process. In collaboration with the Roman Postulator, Dr. Waldery Hilgeman, who assumed leadership on September 1 after the death of the first postulator on August 12, 2012, he manages the supply of all conditions required to advance Cardinal Otunga’s Cause to the Venerable stage, Blessed and ultimately Sainthood.
From a profoundly traditional family, Cardinal Maurice Michael Otunga embraced Catholicism and was baptized in 1935, and accorded the name, “Maurice Michael”. He pursues the priesthood; much to the dismay of his kinfolk; he was consecrated as the first Kenyan Bishop on February 25, 1957, when he was 33 years old, was nominated as a Cardinal at 49, and ascended into the Catholic Cardinalate on March 5, 1973, after commemorating his 50th birthday anniversary. His cause for canonization was launched in 2009 when John Cardinal Njue, the then archbishop of Nairobi petitioned the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican to approve the Cause.
Pilgrims continue to resonate the devotional message, “A Disciple of Jesus Christ, he served His people with deep faith and love for all, as a humble priest, a compassionate shepherd, ” inscribed on the exterior wall of Cardinal Otunga’s Memorial Hall, which archives his personal belongings including religious vestments, pictures, furniture, and epithets.
Journey to Sainthood: The Life and Times of the Servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga is an ongoing discourse on the Cause of Sainthood of the first Cardinal in Kenya.
Audiovisual Interviews are available on Capuchin Television YouTube Channel @ Capuchin TV and Facebook Page @ Capuchin Television Network.
Please report any special favours received through the intercession of the Servant of God, Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga to
CARDINAL OTUNGA’S BEATIFICATION OFFICE,
P.O Box 27043-00100,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Or
CELL PHONE: (+254) 706 127 147 / 771 836 557
EMAIL: cardinalotungabo@gmail.com
