“He enriched the Church; and not just the Church, but the whole world. His teachings touched various sectors, people from different walks of life,” the Local Ordinary of Kitale Diocese said about the late Pontiff, who passing on Easter Monday, April 21.
“We have lost a good shepherd,” he said in his April 25 homily at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of his Episcopal See.
The late Pope Francis, Bishop Odonya recalled, was “a good father who had faith and hope that every human being should continue to depend on God.”
“His teachings touched the hearts of human beings and influenced their behaviour, especially on matters like protecting the environment and more recently through what we call the Synod on Synodality,” he said referring to the late Pope Francis’ May 2015 Encyclical Letter on care for our common home, Laudato Si’, and the multi-year XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which the late Pontiff officially inaugurated in 2021 and later extended to 2024 respectively.
Bishop Odonya, who has been at the helm of Kitale Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in January 2023 noted that through his pastoral approaches and teachings, the late Pope Francis influenced the people of God to get closer to the person of Jesus Christ.
Alluding to the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of Christmas 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Kenyan-born Church leader encouraged the People of God in his Episcopal See to keep hope alive and remain strong in faith.
“As we continue to reflect on the theme of this Year of Prayer, ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’ we remember the legacy of the Holy Father,” he said.
Bishop Odonya went on to caution against despair, saying, “As we live in this world, let us not lose hope, whether in our families, our workplaces, or wherever we may be.”
He recalled the late Pope Francis’ support for the 2012-2013 Year of Faith, which his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI had initiated in October 2012 to foster a renewed appreciation and a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. Bishop Odonya said, “During that year, we were encouraged to have faith and trust in God in our personal lives.”
The late Pope Francis, he said, “passed on those teachings to the whole Church faithfully, so that we may continue to believe in Jesus Christ, who loves us, who cares for us, who is our Savior; Christ, who is our Hope.”
