Archbishop in Kenya Urges Staff at Health Facility to Foster Patience in Handling the Sick

Nairobi, 05 September, 2023 / 3:04 PM

Archbishop Philip Anyolo Subira of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi in Kenya has urged the staff at St. Matia Mulumba Mission Hospital in his Metropolitan See to exercise patience in handling the sick at the facility. 

In his Tuesday, September 5 homily during the opening and consecration of the Chapel of the health facility in his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Anyolo said, “As we bless this place, we are encouraging all those people including doctors and nurses who work here to be patient with the sick because in patience comes health and new life.”

He added, “The moment a sick person comes to this facility for treatment, know that you have handed that person over to God Himself who is the overall doctor.”

The Kenyan Catholic Church leader advocated for a positive attitude, saying, “Let us know the attitude you have towards the sick and their families.”

“Attitude is manifested in the saving works of spiritual mercy,” he further said, underscoring the need for the staff at St. Matia Mulumba Mission Hospital to be guided by a positive attitude.

Archbishop Anyolo went on to explain the close interconnection between science and religion. He said, “It is holy to have hospitals and the mind of Jesus Christ invites not only the spiritual to do that but invites also the mind of science to come together to help the sick person.”

“The Catholic Church heals your soul and then presents you to the doctors. That is why we work in the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which also has given the Church a mission of healing and educating the people of God,” the Kenyan Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 1996 as Bishop of Kenya’s Kericho Diocese said.

The Local Ordinary of Nairobi Archdiocese since November 2021 added, “This hospital has been built here for our own good; as much as the hospital is here, let us not see it as our own making, its God manifesting Himself through the work of our hands.”

Archbishop Anyolo also said that healthcare is universal and that it begins at the family level.