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| Catholic Youth |
The Catholic Youth in Kenya, through the Commission for Pastoral and Lay Apostolate at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), have organized daily Rosary prayers for the intentions of the Pope Francis ahead of his visit to Kenya from 25th to 27thNovember.
According to Fr. Charles Odira, the National Coordinator of the Commission for Pastoral and Lay Apostolate, the exercise began on Thursday 15th October and will end on 15thNovember.
“All the rosaries prayed by the youth from across the country will be aggregated and a plaque made will be presented to Pope Francis during his meeting with the youth Pope at Kasarani Sports Complex in Nairobi,” he said.
The Rosary prayers will be a gift from the Kenyan Youth to the Holy Father for his many intentions and also for peace in the world. “People often offer various gifts to the clergy in order to support them in their various ministries; the gifts could be in monetary form or various items, similarly, Pope Francis has many intentions and people from across the world ask for his prayers. The Kenyan Youth have chosen to give the gift of daily rosary recitations for a whole month for the many intentions of the Holy Father,” Father Odira explained.
He said that necessary mechanisms have been put in place to aid in the aggregation and tallying of the rosaries prayed starting from the Parish level to the Diocese and finally to the national level.
Among the scheduled activities of the Holy Father is a meeting with Kenyan Youth from across the country and this will include youth who are members of other religious backgrounds not necessarily Catholics. For instance “From the Archdiocese of Mombasa, which has been experiencing interreligious conflicts, the youth have organized an interfaith peace caravan where representatives from various denominations and religious backgrounds will travel together in a bus under the theme: Together we can Work for Peace to come to meet with the Pope in Nairobi.”, said Fr. Odira
In response to the Holy Father’s Encyclical Laudato Si, on the Care for Our Common Home, the Environment, Youth representatives from the dioceses will bring with them tree seedlings be blessed by the Pope, after which they will go back and plant in their respective dioceses. “This will be in appreciation to the Holy Father’s call to Care for Our Common Home. The planting of the trees in the dioceses will mark the young people’s commitment to care for the environment and in commemoration of their meeting with the Holy Father. The youth intend to carry on the tree planting ceremony yearly,” Father Odira explained.
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News