Church History
INCEPTION
The Parish was enacted in 1989 by the late Servant of God Cardinal Maurice Otunga when he was the Archbishop of Nairobi. However, it was not activated till 1995.
The Catholics who were attending Mass at the Spiritan House chapel organized themselves and incorporated those who attended Mass at Capuchin Franciscans on Bogani Road, those attending at the Shrine on Langata Road, and those attending at the Passionist Congregation on Ushirika Road. Together they formed a group that met Sundays at Spiritan house to start the Parish. As there was a Parish priest, we asked the Archbishop for help and he asked Fr Pius Onyango, Parish priest of Regina Caeli at Karen, to be attending the meetings to give guidance on the formation of the new Parish.
Long Term Plans as drawn by the Christians
- To acquire a plot on which to do development
- To build a church
- To build a Father’s house
- To build a Community Centre
- Simultaneously with the above, to grow and develop spiritual and pastoral aspects of the parishioners. To accomplish the above, two committees were founded the interim Parish Council and Finance and Development to spearhead the activities.
As money was needed for these developments, it was decided to start doing Harambees at the end of the month in the three items identified above. This was agreed upon and started immediately.
Since that time, all the developments in the Parish have been done through the generous contributions of the parishioners and well-wishers.
When we see the achievements to date, we see and appreciate the hands of God in them.
- PROGRESS OF PROJECTS.
PLOT
As the committee searched for a plot, it became clear that due to the price of plots it would take many years for the Christians to collect enough money to purchase a plot let alone build the facilities. Therefore, the committees decided to request the Spiritan Congregation to donate 2.5 acres for the purpose. A delegation accompanied by Fr Simon Lobon went to Arusha to present their request to the Spiritan Provincial Council. It was well-received but the bargaining was hard. It came back to wait for the decision of the council. The wait was an anxious moment and our ladies, who had already formed a prayer.
- CHURCH
The construction of the church commenced in April 1999 the amount raised so far progressed in stages as more money was raised. As soon as the walls were built, Sunday masses were celebrated there and Christians had to endure the cold wind. During the rainy season, a tent had to be pitched inside the building shell. One Diaconate ordination was done there and one of the deacons became our Parish priest many years later.
- COMMUNITY CENTRE
When the church got to a stage where it was usable and reasonably comfortable though not complete, it was decided to start this project due to the demand for space to meet various church groups and children. As there has been phenomenal growth in the numbers of such groups and children, we are now running out of space. One of the components of current projects is hall partitioning to create more space. What a blessing.
4. FATHER’S HOUSE
There has been a challenge for Father’s accommodation since the beginning as there was no parish house but lucky for us, the Spiritan community provided accommodation. At one stage the father lived in rented accommodation outside the parish so he could be resident in the parish. We were in this situation when this project started. This situation gave a big incentive to parishioners to raise enough money to complete the house in the shortest time possible.
This facility accommodates the father in charge, the assistant father in charge, and other priests on assignment and on study While here, they serve parishioners in different ways as assigned by the Parish priest.
- PARKING AND LANDSCAPING
This was the next project undertaken. It increased the parking space as well as eased the flow of vehicles in and out of the compound. It also improved the appearance of the compound and enhanced the environment.
This space is already running short especially when there is a big function. The relevant committee is aware of this and is already addressing it in the future.
6. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PASTORAL AND SPIRITUAL ASPECTS
The development of any Parish is not composed of only physical facilities but also the spiritual and pastoral needs of the parishioners. In ours, this started a long time back in some aspects but others took time to come. For example, the Spiritan prayer group and CWA started when parishioners were still at Spiritan’s house. CWA was launched by the late Archbishop Ndindi Mwana’a Nzeki during the blessing of the site in 1998. Today there are many church groups and prayer groups that have enriched Christian sharing. One big blessing is the increase in the number of children attending catechism and other relevant instructions. As stated elsewhere, space has run out already.
LAY LEADERS.
Only the positions of chairmen and treasurers are highlighted here but many other people play a big part in the development process. All these are acknowledged.
The first Chairman of the interim Parish Council was the late Mr. Gabriel Itela who was succeeded, after one year, by Mr. Peter Memia. The latter was re-elected to the same position till 2010 when Mr. Nicholas Njau took over and ran for two terms. He passed the baton to Mr. Aleke Dondo from 2016 who has now handed over the Leadership baton to the New Parish Moderator Antony Ndegwa in May 2023
The chairmen of the Finance and Development committee were the late Mr. James Gacheru who recommended the Architect and a team of engineers for the church construction project. Mr. Gacheru negotiated with them to give offer the Church Architectural drawing free of charge. He was then succeeded by Mr. John Mbaya who held the position till 2010 and was succeeded by Peter Memia who was co-opted to chair the committee till the next elections. Mr. Peterson Chege was elected and is the current Moderator.
There have been three treasurers since the Parish started. The first was Mr. Francis Muguku for many years followed by Mr. John Mbaya who went for 2 terms and then was succeeded by Mrs. Caroline Nduku Isaboke in 2016, whom has now handed over to Mr. Joseph Kibwott in May 2023.
May God continue blessing our Parish, the Father, and all the parishioners for their dedication to the Parish.
Peter Memia.
Former Chair of Finance & Development