CUEA: At Cardinal Otunga’s Memorial Mass, University Raised $27,000 to Support Needy Students At Cardinal Otunga’s Memorial Mass
By Stephen Mbobu
The Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) held the Cardinal Otunga Memorial Mass, Lecture, and Fundraiser on Friday, September 29. The three-part event is held annually to commemorate the Servant of God, Maurice Cardinal Otunga one of the founders of the institution.
The Mass was led by Rt. Rev. Cleophas Oseso Tuka, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru.
With the day coinciding with the feast of the Archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Bishop had his message centered on the same.
Quoting St. John Vianney, he urged the attendants that when one cannot pray, they should ask their guardian angel to pray for them noting that the three archangels have specific services that they render with Michael defending us in battles, Gabriel being the bearer of the good news and Raphael being the bearer of healing.
In his homily, Bishop Tuka went on to say that, “God through his angels touches the heart of a person somewhere to be able to contribute to the scholarship,” and reminded the congregants about the message of Apostle Matthew that when you help a little one, you have done it for Jesus.
The memorial Lecture was delivered by Rev. Prof. Lawrence Njoroge, the Chaplain at JKUAT and vice-postulator to the cause for the canonization of Servant of God, Maurice Cardinal Otunga.
Speaking under the theme, ‘Promotion of the Dignity of the Human Person: The Cardinal Otunga Perspective,” Fr. Njoronge observed that in his preaching and pastoral practice, Cardinal Otunga was guided by the classical cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.’
He went on to illustrate a number of instances where the Cardinal applied the cardinal virtues including “ensuring that with a growing population in the informal settlements (slums), he invited the Little Sisters of the poor to open Nyumba ya Wazee (home for the aged) and collaborated with St. Benedict’s church, Ruaraka to source for funding from Germany for upgrading Mathare 4A informal settlement.
Cardinal Otunga also took action to allocate part of Nairobi Archdiocese that is Limuru farm to workers who had stayed there for so long and had literally become squatters on the land and ensured that they got the land titles.
Fr. Lawrence in reference to Margaret Ogola and Margaret Roche who had authored the Cardinal’s autobiography indeed acknowledged that the SoG was ‘indeed a gift of grace’.
Lauding the Cardinal Otunga event to which he had given the first lecture at its founding in 2005, he said that this was in line with the Cardinal’s belief that human beings should be informed and formed. He went on to say, “That is the reason he invested so much in education: he was convinced that the Catholic Church is both mother and teacher.” He acknowledged the cardinal’s role in the establishment of CUEA.
Fr. Lawrence knew Cardinal Otunga for 33 years and served as his Education Secretary and Pro-Secretary for two years. ‘For me, this was an unfolding encounter with a great person,’ he opined.
Rev. Njoroge reported that the Positio, a document comprising the acts of inquiry and the official Biography will soon be placed before the dicastery for discernment and voting on elevating the SoG to the rank of Venerable.
In his welcoming remarks, the CUEA VC, Very Rev. Prof. Stephen Mbugua concurred that Cardinal Otunga was very much interested in ensuring that all had access to education and hence the establishment of the Cardinal Otunga Scholarship in September 2005.
The VC said that the target of the scholarship is to set up an endowment fund to the tune of Kshs 50 million. The fundraiser followed immediately after the Lecture.
About Kshs. 4Million was raised with the university donating Ksh. 1 Million shillings to the fund. The guest fundraisers for the event were Dr. Mr & Mrs Charles Waihenya who contributed Kshs 400,000. Dr. Waihenya is a renal specialist at MP Shah hospital while his wife is an educationist.
