Carmelites Eulogize “last” American Nun Whose Talent Warmed Kenyan President's Heart

Describing Sr. Mary and Sr. Jean as “excellent artists, superb seamstresses, and outstanding cooks”, Fr. Geng said, “In fact, when Kenya gained its freedom in 1963, President Jomo Kenyatta invited the two blood sisters to the Statehouse. Their work? To adjust and sew properly an existing Army flag.”

The flag of the Kenyan Army is red and has two black rifles surrounded by a wreath in gold.

Archbishop Philip Anyolo during the Funeral Mass of Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified on 12 May 2013. Credit: Mount Carmel Convent Nairobi

The U.S.-born Kenya-based OCD Priest narrated that the Kenyan Army General gave the two OCD sisters a rifle minus the shells to use as a model for the flag. 

Carrying the rifles, Sr. Mary and Sr. Jean were driven back to the Christ the King Monastery, Msongari, in an Army lorry. 

The gun was picked up one hour later after the corrections were made to the flag, Fr. Geng narrated, adding, “These sisters didn’t need guns because they relied on the power of prayer. That was their gun.”

Archbishop Philip Anyolo during the Funeral Mass of Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified on 12 May 2013. Credit: Mount Carmel Convent Nairobi

“I recently heard that Mary was an exceptional carpenter who made many of the furnishings in the house. The gifts and talents of these two women will live on in the memory of their fellow sisters,” he said. 

A Eulogy that Sr. Agnes D’Souza wrote and read out on behalf of OCD members at Christ the King Msongari Monastery in Nairobi also testified about Sr. Mary’s talent.

“Sr. Mary was a very gifted woman; an Artist to whom we owe the beautiful painting in the large parlour which visitors to this day, find truly inspiring. Mary also painted in oils, a replica of Hoffman’s Christ, which we will treasure,” Sr. Agnes said in the eulogy that was shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, May 16.

Archbishop Philip Anyolo during the Funeral Mass of Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified on 12 May 2013. Credit: Mount Carmel Convent Nairobi

The OCD Nun noted that besides her gift as an artist, Sr. Mary was also a sensitive musician “who played the piano by ear!”

“She could detect a wrong note when we sang in the choir and in a stage whisper would say: ‘That’s not correct”!!” Sr. Agnes said in the Eulogy, and added, “She and her sister Jean would sing duets beautifully; Mary, the Alto, and Jean, the soprano. It was uplifting to hear them.”

Sr. Mary’s “worst affliction”, Sr. Agnes said, was her failing eyesight caused by macular degeneration.

The poor eyesight meant that Sr. Mary could not read or sew, “and it made her days very long and lonely,” Sr. Agnes said.

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Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the U.S., Sr. Mary and Sr. Jean entered Nairobi Carmel in 1952 and 1953 respectively. Sr. Jean passed on at Christ the King Msongari Monastery on 8 May 2016 at her 89th birthday.

Despite her poor health and old age, Sr. Mary, according to Fr. Geng “the last surviving American” OCD Nun in Kenya, is said to have made the habit of spending hours in the Oratory before the Blessed Sacrament, holding in prayer, all who had asked for prayers. 

“She looked forward to receiving Communion and if Sister had been busy and was late, Mary would ask one of us to remind Sister that she had not received ‘Jesus’,” Sr. Agnes recounted during the May 12 Funeral Mass presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya, Archbishop Archbishop Hubertus van Megen and graced by the Local Ordinary of Nairobi, Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo.

Archbishop Philip Anyolo during the Funeral Mass of Sr. Mary of Jesus Crucified on 12 May 2013. Credit: Mount Carmel Convent Nairobi

Sr. Mary had “a childlike love for Our Lord”, she said about the late OCD member, who is also said to have been very passionate about unborn children, always praying against the spirit of abortion.

“Mary prayed with great sensitivity for the unborn and for mothers considering abortion. This saddened her and caused her deep distress,” Sr. Agnes said.

She added, “True to our Holy Mother, St. Teresa’s spirit, Mary prayed very much for Priests and for the Church. She dearly loved our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and was always eager to know his Holiness intentions and plans for the Church.”

In his homily, Fr. Geng eulogized the late OCD member as a very strong, good, Carmelite sister.