Let’s not be “annoying Priests”: Catholic Archbishop at Priestly Ordination in Kenya

Nairobi, 08 August, 2025 / 10:22 PM

The Archbishop of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu has urged members of Clergy to always be available to the people they serve, and to carry out their pastoral duties appropriately, lest they turn into “annoying Priests.”

He encouraged Priests to be available enough in serving the people of God in both pastoral and missionary work.

“We must avoid being annoying Priests,” Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba said in his Wednesday, August 6 homily during the Ordination of Deacon Julius Oketch Agunda at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Ukwala.

He added, “An annoying priest is a Priest who is not available.  People want him for confessions, for Mass, to visit communities, but he is not there.”

The Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) further described “an annoying Priest” as one who “rushes” through Mass. “He rushes through Mass as if he has an appointment with God himself, but God is there in Mass. That is a very annoying Priest. A Priest who rushes through the celebration of Sacraments is an annoying Priest. A Priest who is late for functions is an annoying Priest.”

The Archbishop of Kisumu urged Priests to always keep time for Masses, especially those who celebrate multiple Masses in a day, so as not to keep other stations waiting.

The Archbishop also encouraged Priests to wear smiles and keep a jovial expression, especially when interacting with children.

Archbishop Muhatia urged the new member of the Society of St. Joseph (Mill Hill Missionaries) to remain obedient in all his duties, just like Prophet Jeremiah.

Referring to the words of God to Prophet Jeremiah, Archbishop Muhatia told Deacon Agunda, “Before you were born, I knew you, called them. Before you were formed in your mother's home, everything about your life was in my presence. I have chosen you. I have consecrated you. I have appointed you to go.” 

He encouraged the Deacon he was about to ordain to respond to God’s call positively, saying, “God places in your mouth his words and commissions you. And invites you to obey him. Wherever you are going to be sent by God, you go. Whatever he tells you to say, you say. It means you will never speak your own words to the community of faith, the community of the people of God. The words you will speak to the people are the words of God.”

Archbishop Muhatia said that a Priest must always seek to emulate Jesus Christ who carried out acts of humanity, saying, “This is the ministry of a Catholic Priest…He is invited to go and preach. Jesus has come to minister to suffering humanity. And a Priest has to be available to suffering humanity. Real suffering, sickness, problems, broken lives, to mend them all.”

Addressing the Priest-elect, the Archbishop said, “This is the life of a Priest. And this shall be your life, Fr. Julius. But most importantly, you're going to mend humanity's broken relationship with God because of sin.”

The KCCB Chairman urged Priests to be keen on how they act for people to respect them and to listen to them.

“We must do things and say things that are worth listening to. We must live lives that are worth listening to,” he emphasized.

The Local Ordinary of Kisumu Archdiocese described the ordination of Deacon Agunda as a “very significant time” in the history of the Archdiocese because of   Fr. Gerald Kraakman, their last Mill Hill Missionary from Holland, who left  Archdiocese of Kisumu recently  at the age of 81 after 55 years of service.

“Today, we shall have Fr. Agunda coming in as Crack Man goes out. He stands as the close of one chapter and at the opening of another chapter,” he said.

Lauding the sacrifice of Fr. Kraakman, Archbishop Muhatia said, “After coming here as a young man, he has gone away as an old man after a Christian faithful of Kisumu have been through with him.  We have literally sucked everything from him. We want to thank the Mill Hill missionaries for the gift of Fr. Gerry Kraakman in our midst.” 

Calling for the support of the newly ordained Priest, the Archbishop said, “Father Agunda will come here for mission appeals in this parish of Our Lady of Fatima, Ukwala. He will come here to ask for help. He will go and help the places where he was sent.  The responsibility of evangelization is now on our shoulders, and we cannot embarrass our son where he is going.”

 “We are the ones going to dress him. We are the ones going to give him sustenance, pocket money. We are the ones going to give him help to go and help the people he has been sent to,” he added.