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Clergy in Kenyan Diocese Urged to Ensure the Sick Experience “warmth of Christ's love” in 2025 Jubilee Celebrations

Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega in Kenya. Credit: Catholic Justice and Peace Department - Diocese of Kakamega

Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega in Kenya has urged members of the Clergy ministering in his Episcopal See to prepare the sick people in their Parishes and Church institutions for the Diocese’s Jubilee of the Sick slated for February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick.

In a statement that ACI Africa obtained on Monday, February 3, Bishop Obanyi tells the Clergy in Kakamega Diocese to extend their reach to the sick, ensuring that each of the infirm under their pastoral care “feels the warmth of Christ's love” and support of the Christian community. 

As the World Day of the Sick approaches, “we have the privilege of celebrating the Diocesan Jubilee of the Sick,” Bishop Obanyi says in the statement dated January 30, and adds, “This is a significant event that offers us an opportunity to extend our pastoral care and compassion to the sick members of our parish communities.”

“I urge you to work closely with Parish Pastoral Councils, health care providers and volunteers to ensure that the preparations are thorough and that every sick member of our Diocese feels the warmth of Christ's love and support of the Christian community,” the Local Ordinary of Kakamega since his Episcopal Consecration in March 2025 says. 

He appeals to the Clergy in his Episcopal See to reach out to the sick not only in parishes but also in health institutions.

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Bishop Obanyi urges the Clergy to encourage the sick to receive the Sacrament of Anointing and the Holy Eucharist and to participate in prayer and reflection in readiness for the February 11 Jubilee of the Sick celebration. 

Pope Francis officially launched the 2025 Jubilee Year on the Eve of Christmas 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica of Rome.

Announcing the start of a Year of Prayer on 21 January 2024 in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, the Holy Father said that the yearlong initiative will be “dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

Months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on 9 May 2024, the Holy Father solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he delivered the Bull of Indiction of the planned Jubilee, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).

The Jubilee Year provides the people of God across the globe an opportunity to participate in various planned jubilee events at the Vatican and in their respective Episcopal Sees and ICLSAL.

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In his January 30 statement, Bishop Obanyi directs that spastoral visits be scaled up to include regular visits to the sick in their homes and in health facilities, offering them spiritual support and comfort. 

He also calls on the Clergy in Kakamega Diocese to facilitate the celebration of Sacraments, particularly Anointing of the Sick and the Holy Eucharist to the sick members of the Parish community. 

The Clergy ministering in the Kenyan Catholic Diocese has also been told to organize prayer sessions and reflections centred on the theme of health, hope and faith to help the sick to participate spiritually in the 2025 Jubilee Year celebrations. 

In his statement, Bishop Obanyi also calls on families and caregivers of the sick to be informed about the significance of the Jubilee of the Sick and encourage their active participation in the spiritual journey.

Sabrine Amboka contributed to this story.

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