KENYA: Family Donates Ancestral Home to Jesuits for Spiritual Renewal
Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, Fr. Joseph
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
In a remarkable act of faith and generosity, a family in Kenya’s Archdiocese of Kisumu has selflessly donated about three acres of their ancestral home to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), with the intent that it serves as a sanctuary where individuals and groups can retreat and engage in prayer, meditation, and personal transformation.
In an interview with some family members of the late Mr. and Mrs. Aloys Afulo, who donated the land, it was clear that the gesture was meant to honour their late parents, who were staunch and dedicated Christians.
“During their lifetime, our parents were committed to advancing the mission of the Church from the 1940s until their death. Undoubtedly, they are happy with this offering to the Church,” Fr. Joseph Oduor Afulo, one of the sons and a member of the Order of the Jesuits shared with AMECEA Online in an interview.
He added that offering the facility as a retreat centre is meant to ease the availability of spiritual exercises to more people, especially the poor who cannot afford to travel long distances in search of retreat houses. Spiritual exercise is a fundamental mission to the Jesuits since it is not just a practice but a way of life.
In western Kenya, ancestral land holds deep significance for any family, its people, and future generations as it represents heritage and identity and connects family members to their roots, traditions, and cultural legacy.
According to Fr. Joseph, the former Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Province of Eastern Africa, when their father divided portions of land among all his sons in the late 1970s which is a cultural and traditional practice in many societies, as a way of maintaining family ties and honoring ancestors, he too had his portion.
Being a Religious who has embraced the vow of poverty and detachment from material possessions, the Kenyan cleric narrates the motivation for the donation of ancestral land saying: “When we enter the Novitiate, from the start, you declare what you are coming with. If there is any inheritance that is due to you, it is also declared, and the conditions of the inheritance.”
He continued while quoting the Constitutions and Norms of the Society, “I made this declaration at the novitiate as required. This declaration is repeated at the final vows which I did in January 2008. “The renunciation of property, however, should be made a short time before final vows and, unless the general decrees otherwise, should have no effect prior to the taking of these vows” (CN32§3).
Aware that ancestral home is more than just a physical structure but a sacred space of family history and identity, Mr. Thomas Afulo, the first-born son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Aloys Afulo admits that the decision to part with the home was not an easy one for the family.
“The Afullo family is very large, consisting of seven brothers and seven sisters, with six of the brothers as well as six of the sisters being married, each with additional families of their own. Thus, surrendering 3 acres of land to the Society of Jesus for conversion into a retreat Center inevitably had its own share of push and pull,” he said and pointed out, “However, once the decision was made, the process went ahead remarkably smoothly.”
Thomas disclosed that when the family embraced the decision, “They generously contributed about Sh. 11 million (Over 85,000 USD) towards building the Retreat Centre, which is a legacy project that epitomizes the role of the parents in supporting and facilitating God’s work.”
The Retreat centre was officially opened last month Friday, December 13, by Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba of Kisumu Archdiocese in the presence of Fr. Kizito Kitimba the Provincial Superior of the Jesuit Province of Eastern Africa.
The Centre has further been named St. Aloysius Gonzaga Retreat Centre which is significant to the family and the Jesuit Society as well.
“For purposes of advancing the development of the facility in both planning and construction, a place hold name was required both by the society and the family. Several names were proposed. Aloysius Gonzaga captures both the aspirations of the society and that of the family and the stakeholders as it is the name of a Jesuit Saint. Additionally, my father is Aloys Afulo Ogutu and so the family name,” Fr. Joseph explained.
