Women Religious in Kenya Urged to Nurture “individual, collective resilience” to Succeed in Mission as Pilgrims of Hope

Nairobi, 12 July, 2025 / 9:23 PM

The Chairperson of the Commission for Religious Life of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has highlighted resilience as vitally important in the success of the evangelization mission undertaken by members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).

In his homily during the opening Mass for the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK), Bishop Hieronymus Emusugut Joya of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Maralal also identified community living and the support from membership in ICLSAL as equally important in realizing Church mission.

Referring to the AOSK 2025 AGM theme, “Pilgrims of Hope in Mission: AOSK Walks Steadfast Towards a Future of Resilience, Self-Reliance, and Sustainability”, Bishop Joya said, “This (walking) towards the future should consider individual and collective resilience, as well as the importance of community life and support systems within Congregations.”

“Without the support systems within Congregations and upholding community life and its spirituality, it will become very difficult to live faithfully our Religious Life in the mission and inform others to be future missionaries in these Congregations,” he said on July 8.

The Kenyan member of the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC) noted that “a future faith-based self-reliance in the mission should emphasize on individual responsibility and the development of skills and resources to meet congregational needs and have greater capacity to serve and support others.” 

He underscored the importance of cultivating a culture of self-reliance among ICLSAL, adding that this “should involve a shift from dependency to empowerment, fostering growth, resilience, and ability to contribute meaningfully to the service of communities of the people of God.”

Dear sisters, Bishop Joya said, “the struggle for making our communities self-reliant is not for capitalization, nor for making ourselves feel comfortable, but specifically to sustain ourselves as members of Congregations and Associations, as well as serve the people of God.”

“This walk of AOSK towards self-reliance recognizes that true service of a congregation often flows from the foundation of self-sufficiency,” the Local Ordinary of Maralal Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in October 2022 said referring to the AOSK 2025 AGM theme.

He called upon AOSK members to remain committed to the path of self-sufficiency, noting that when ICLSAL achieve self-reliance, their members are better equipped to live out their vocations faithfully and to lay the foundation for “a more resilient, prosperous, and fulfilling future for themselves and the future generations of Congregations.”

Bishop Joya reminded AOSK members at the helm of their respective ICLSAL of their sacred responsibility to guide the growth and ensure the sustainability of their respective Orders for posterity.

He said, “We should know that we are not only building Congregations for ourselves, but for the future generations to carry on their work as part of the foundation of the Congregations, to minister to the people of God throughout generations.” 

He continued, “A sustainable future of your scale in the mission requires a conscious shift towards practice that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This “conscious shift”, he went on to say, would involve “integrating environmental, cultural, religious, social, technological, and economic considerations into all aspects of planning and the action of specific Congregations and Associations over your scale.”

“It necessitates a move beyond simply human development that reduces lack of material and knowledge acquisition to actively promote the well-being of the Church and resilience for both members of Congregations, the people in society, and the planet in which we are stewards,” Bishop Joya said.

He underscored the importance of Charisms for ICLSAL, which he described as “the baseline and foundation of every Congregation.”

“To walk steadfast towards a future of resilience, self-reliance, and sustainability in mission requires a dynamic and multifaceted approach anchored on congregational charisms,” said the 60-year-old Catholic Bishop.

He urged women Religious to foster authentic community life and expressed concern over what he described as emerging “religious communities which were never foreseen by the founders of the Congregation or by the Church that approved our Congregations.”

“Your scale needs to embrace holistic development strategies, foster adaptability according to the signs of the times, draw strength from deep faith based on unwavering spirituality, and authentic religious community life,” Bishop Joya said in his July 8 homily.