By Francis Ngahu
NAIROBI, OCTOBER 31, 2026 (CISA) – More than 100 Catholics walked 10 kilometres on Saturday, the last day of the Church’s month of mission, to raise funds for a home that will care for elderly and ailing Consolata Missionaries in Kenya.
The Camisassa Missionary Walk, held under the banner “Walking Together in Faith and Mission”, began with Holy Mass at 7:00 a.m. at Consolata Shrine in Westlands. The walk followed at 8:00 a.m., after heavy rain that lasted until about 9:30 a.m.
Very Rev. Fr Zakaria Kariuki, Regional Superior of the Consolata Missionaries’ Kenya-Uganda Region, said the walk serves two purposes: raising awareness of Camisassa Home and raising money to furnish it.
“We have really advanced. It is practically finished. Now we are at the stage of furnishing, although part of it is already being used,” he said.
The home, he explained, is meant to honour missionaries who “gave their life for the evangelisation and human promotion of the people”, and to support them in old age and sickness. It is not only for those who served in Kenya. The institute is also receiving missionaries from Ivory Coast and South Africa.
He also said participation was slightly lower than last year because schools were closed. He would prefer the event to coincide with school terms, so that families can bring children to the institutions the missionaries run.
Most participants came from parishes the Consolata Missionaries serve in Nairobi, he said. Others came from different parts of the country, and seminarians in formation also took part.
Mrs Wambui, popularly known as Mama Camisassa, chairs the Camisassa Home Steering Committee. She said the home answers a painful experience. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, many missionaries who fell seriously ill were flown to Italy, even after spending 40, 50 or 60 years in Kenya.
“It broke our hearts to imagine that you can spend all your life here and then be taken to a community that is completely new to you,” she said.
The home stands beside Consolata Shrine at the Regional House so that the priests remain close to the people they served. She said retirement will not mean idleness. The priests can hear confessions, mentor young people and counsel those in difficulty.
Henry Wanyoike, the Kenyan Paralympic champion, also took part and completed the 10 kilometres. He said the day’s theme was “one Christ, one mission”.
“We started the day well with the rain, and we have ended the day well with the sun,” he said. He added that Camisassa “is open every day” and that donations can be made at the church.
Fr Kariuki closed the month with a call to every Catholic. “The Church is very clear that every baptised person is a missionary,” he said. “We do a lot of work, and it is possible only through the support that we get from other people.”
