KENYA: Bishops Conference Expound on the Jubilee Year 2025
Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops
Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has shed light on the significance of the jubilee year 2025 proclaimed by Pope Francis as a “Jubilee Year of Hope”, themed as “Hope does not disappoint”.
On their address on January 21st, through Capuchin Tv, Archbishop Anthony Muheria who is the Vice Chairman of KCCB linked the jubilee year to a “moment of special rain”, a time when the Church opens its spiritual bounty for the fruitful to access grace in abundance.
Archbishop Muheria noted that jubilee year 2025 is a call for the Church to journey together, delivering hope to all especially those in hopeless and difficult situations.
“The main aim of the jubilee year is to give an opportunity for graces, graces which means reconciliation, conversion, where we are invited to come and meet Christ and in meeting Christ renew our dedication, and in renewing our dedication we may be energized to go ahead in this journey that is our Christian journey, the journey towards God”.
He explained that the Holy Door is a powerful representation of Jesus Christ as “the way, the Truth, and the Life” and the doors opened in various Basilicas and local diocese symbolizes the Church’s invitation to deeper relationship with Christ adding that the passing through these doors is not merely a physical act but a spiritual journey of communion with Christ, drawing from the wells of salvation.
He highlighted that the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist are key avenues through which Christians can encounter Christ during the jubilee year.
The Local Ordinary of the Archdiocese of Nyeri added that pilgrimages are another cornerstone of the jubilee year emphasizing that pilgrimage is not solely for personal benefit but also for the spiritual good of others, including souls in purgatory and encouraged the faithful to win graces for themselves and others during this year.
“Through devotions of the pilgrimages we also offer what the Church gives us as graces for our brothers and sisters; especially those in purgatory so that they too can benefit and reach heaven faster, it is also the Church that is triumphant, that is praying for us and with us, and the Church that is suffering, that is waiting for the graces, we can win the graces for our brothers and sisters”.
In line with Pope Francis’ emphasis on mercy, the prelate disclosed that for a practical those in distress each diocese will organize mercy initiatives to support local needs.
“So, in our country, in our various dioceses depending on the situations we are organizing, not similar but different according to the situation, activities that are mercy initiatives. That will make this possible for Jesus to touch them and for them to encounter Jesus, for them to be invited in this boat so that we can walk to words grace, for them to experience a reconciliation, or a renewal, or a conversion or all of them such that we can be closer to our Lord Jesus Christ who is presented to us Himself as the hope that does not disappoint”.
A unique aspect of the Jubilee year is the granting of indulgence which bishop Muheria described as “special graces from the Church’s treasury”, he called upon the faithful to apply these indulgences for themselves or offer them for souls in purgatory.
“A special grace that is called the indulgence which is a forgiveness given from the treasures of the Church for all that debt that is unpaid from our sins, the sins are forgiven, but there are debts still not yet fulfilled, and that’s why people are in purgatory and that plenary indulgence we are able to win that grace and actually offer it to God for people who have gone before us, for our loved ones, for those people who have been forgotten”.
He continued, “In order to receive the plenary of indulgence we are invited to receive the sacrament of confession, we reinvited within a period of about a week, we are invited to receive Holy Communion preferably in the Mass celebrated on that day one wants to receive the plenary indulgence”.
He further noted that the Jubilee Year is not only about receiving graces but also about celebrating God’s abundant love and mercy. It is a time to worship, give thanks, and praise God for His blessings.
“We also give thanks to God for the many graces he has given us, so it is not just about gaining graces but also about celebrating and worshiping God and giving praise for all he has been for us”.
On his part bishop Joseph Mwongela of Kitui diocese, and chair of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Pastoral and Lay Apostolate, posed a challenge to the Church: “do our lives, practices, and institution radiate hope? When people look at Christian families, Church leaders, and communities, do they see a beacon of fidelity, unity and possibility?
“Challenge to all is when they look at the Church and Church leaders, do we see hope? When we look at the Christian practice, do we see hope, when we look at the married people and the practice that is there, what are the young people seeing, about those who are living it, do we focus on those who are breaking up, do we focus on the heartbreak or do we focus on the fidelity and the great things that are happening?
The bishop also addressed Kenya’s national challenges, particularly corruption and social fragmentation urging the faithful to pray and work towards breaking the chains of corruption and envisioned a nation renewed by integrity, justice, and hope.
“When we pray and say we want to fight corruption, break the chains of corruption, how much hope is there? Do we see that there is a possibility of Kenya becoming great nation, do we look forward to great things or we are looking at things in desperation, as a Church we want to proclaim hope, we to live hope, we want to be people of hope, we want to live like we are at the door of hope pressing the threshold to enjoy the Messianic time promised by Jesus Himself”?
Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Eldoret Diocese pointed out that it is there hope that this jubilee year they will also reach out to those communities in the periphery, where people are struggling that the hope of Christ can also permeate and reach where they are.
He also called upon the politicians to use this year of jubilee to reflect about the way they are taking our country and see this year of jubilee as a moment of beginning again in thinking about good of our country, in thinking about how to reconcile.
