KENYA: Focus on Christ, Not Fundraising: PMC Leaders Encouraged
Magdalene Kahiu
At the recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Kenya’s Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS), diocesan directors and Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC) coordinators were reminded that missionary work must be centered on Christ, not on financial collections.
During Mass on February 10, PMS National Director Fr. Bonaventure Luchidio emphasized that while missionary work is entrusted to humanity, it ultimately belongs to God.
“Go back remembering that mission is not about how much was collected, but how deeply Christ was encountered,” he said at the Assumption Centre of Nairobi JJ McCarthy Centre.
Fr. Luchidio reminded the attendees that missionaries are not the saviours—God alone carries that role and that recognizing His guidance frees missionaries from undue pressure and control, allowing them to serve with sincerity and focus.
He emphasized that mission is entirely God’s work, “The Body we receive is the Body we are sent to become—in our dioceses, parishes, outstations, and mission fields. Mission does not start after the meeting. Mission starts because of this altar.”
Highlighting prayer as the most effective tool for mission, Fr. Luchidio drew inspiration from St. Scholastica, saying, “She had no office, no title, no microphone—yet her prayer shaped mission profoundly.”
He cautioned that without prayer, PMS and PMC risk becoming inefficient and tired.
“With prayer, even small efforts bear fruit. True unity comes not from constitutions or structures, but from Christ and His grace,” he said, and added, “Unity is born in prayer, not enforced in meetings. You can attend ten meetings and still be divided, but pray together sincerely, and even difficult conversations soften.”
Fr. Luchidio drew the missionaries’ attention to the Eucharist as the true source and summit of their work. He reminded them that mission is not an activity added after meetings and plans, but a calling born from communion with Christ.
“The Body we receive is the Body we are sent to become—in our dioceses, parishes, outstations, and mission fields. Mission does not start after the meeting. Mission starts because of this altar.”
