By Francis Ngahu
NAIROBI, AUGUST 31, 2026 (CISA) – The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has invited Catholics and all people of goodwill to this year’s National Prayer Day at the Subukia National Marian Shrine, calling on Kenyans to embrace the vocation of peacemaking as the country looks ahead to next year’s General Election.
The annual pilgrimage, held every first Saturday of October at the shrine popularly known as the Village of Mary in Nakuru County, falls this year on Saturday, 3rd October.
Announcing the invitation, KCCB Chairman Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba, who is also Metropolitan Archbishop of Kisumu, welcomed the faithful to the celebration, describing it as a moment when the Church in Kenya converges at the national shrine to intercede for the country. “I want to take this chance to welcome all of you for our National Prayer Day this year,” he said.
He said this year’s celebration is built around a call to peacemaking, a theme he described as providential given that the universal Church is marking the Jubilee Year of St Francis of Assisi. Pope Leo XIV proclaimed the extraordinary Jubilee from 10th January 2026 to 10th January 2027 to commemorate the eighth centenary of the death of St Francis, a saint long associated with the pursuit of peace and reconciliation.
“It is providential because this year is the year of St Francis, one of the well-known personages in the Catholic Church that have promoted peace, patrons of peace,” Archbishop Muhatia said.
Prayers for peace ahead of elections
Archbishop Muhatia said the pilgrims gathering at Subukia will pray for peace in Kenya and across the world, with particular attention to the country’s political season, as Kenyans prepare for elections next year.
“This year’s National Prayer Day is the prayer day that comes before the elections,” he said. “We’ll be thanking God for the good peace and good things He has given us. Now we are asking Him and praying to God to bless our country, that we may have national cohesion.”
He called on communities, leaders, citizens and people of different faiths in Kenya to work together as one family. “God [should] bless us, [that] we may work together, all the communities, all the leaders, all the citizens, all the various faiths in our country. We bond together as children of God, people of the same family, to move together in peace,” he said.
Kisumu Province to animate the liturgy
This year’s Eucharistic celebration will be animated by the Ecclesiastical Province of Kisumu, of which Archbishop Muhatia is Metropolitan. The province brings together the Archdiocese of Kisumu and its eight suffragan dioceses: Lodwar, Kitale, Eldoret, Kapsabet, Bungoma, Kakamega, Homa Bay and Kisii.
“Come and see how the people of Kisumu know how to animate prayer sessions and lift people up to God in heaven,” Archbishop Muhatia said, extending an open invitation to the faithful from across the country. “Come one, come many, we’ll be happy to be with you.”
The Mass and the National Prayer Day proceedings will be broadcast live on Capuchin TV and across KCCB’s social media platforms, allowing Catholics unable to travel to Subukia to follow the celebrations.
A tradition of national intercession
The Subukia National Marian Shrine has, since 1987, grown into one of Kenya’s largest annual gatherings of prayer, drawing Catholics, Christians from other denominations, Muslims and people of goodwill from across the country. Last year’s edition, animated by the Metropolitan Province of Kisumu under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope, Renewing Our Nation,” drew more than 50,000 pilgrims, including groups that walked hundreds of kilometres on foot from as far as Kakamega Diocese to reach the shrine.
The shrine, entrusted to the Conventual Franciscan Friars, remains a national centre of prayer and reconciliation, and has in past years hosted the dedication of Kenya to the protection of Mary, Mother of God.
Kisumu Province to animate the liturgy
This year’s Eucharistic celebration will be animated by the Ecclesiastical Province of Kisumu, of which Archbishop Muhatia is Metropolitan. The province brings together the Archdiocese of Kisumu and its eight suffragan dioceses: Lodwar, Kitale, Eldoret, Kapsabet, Bungoma, Kakamega, Homa Bay and Kisii.
“Come and see how the people of Kisumu know how to animate prayer sessions and lift people up to God in heaven,” Archbishop Muhatia said, extending an open invitation to the faithful from across the country. “Come one, come many, we’ll be happy to be with you.”
The Mass and the National Prayer Day proceedings will be broadcast live on Capuchin TV and across KCCB’s social media platforms, allowing Catholics unable to travel to Subukia to follow the celebrations.
A tradition of national intercession
The Subukia National Marian Shrine has, since 1987, grown into one of Kenya’s largest annual gatherings of prayer, drawing Catholics, Christians from other denominations, Muslims and people of goodwill from across the country. Last year’s edition, animated by the Metropolitan Province of Kisumu under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope, Renewing Our Nation,” drew more than 50,000 pilgrims, including groups that walked hundreds of kilometres on foot from as far as Kakamega Diocese to reach the shrine.
The shrine, entrusted to the Conventual Franciscan Friars, remains a national centre of prayer and reconciliation, and has in past years hosted the dedication of Kenya to the protection of Mary, Mother of God.
