Nairobi, 12 August, 2025 / 10:49 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) has prohibited the celebration of Sunday Mass in private homes unless he grants permission.
In a Pastoral letter to Priests, women and men Religious, and the faithful, Archbishop Anyolo says, “No Sunday Mass should be celebrated in private homes except for a grave reason and with the express permission of the Local Ordinary.”
“On certain occasions, some of Christ’s faithful have requested that Sunday Mass be celebrated in their homes rather than joining in the celebration with the parish community,” he laments, adding that “in various instances, some Priests have acceded to these requests by celebrating Sunday Mass in private residences.”
Archbishop Anyolo explains, “According to the teaching of our faith, Christians are obliged to attend Mass on Sunday and the days of obligation according to the precepts of divine law expressed in the third commandment of the Decalogue and also the Code of Canon Law” no 1246-1248.
“This obligation, is to be fulfilled in the Parish Church or any other prayer house designated for that purpose like the outstations in our Parishes,” said the said the Kenyan Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in the Catholic Diocese of Kericho in February 1996 further referring to the canon law no 1214 and 932.
