Cardinal Otunga: Progress Cause of Beatification
Kenya’s first Cardinal, the Servant of God, Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga, who is being considered for Sainthood, has been hailed as “a great gift to the Church” in the East African country and the world.
In his message on the Tuesday, September 6 memorial of Cardinal Otunga, the Vice Postulator for the course of the Cardinal’s beatification exuded confidence that the Cardinal’s journey to Sainthood was on the right course, and called for prayers for the process toward the stage of Venerable.
Source: ACI Africa
| KENYA: Archdiocese Urges Faithful To “Own the Process” of Beatification and Canonization of Cardinal Otunga |
| NAIROBI, SEPTEMBER 6,2022 (CISA)- On the occasion of the 19th death anniversary of Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga, the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi is appealing to the faithful and all people of goodwill to “own the process” for the cause of beatification and canonization. “People must keep the process moving through intercessory prayers and also through practising the virtues of the candidate. Talking well of the process that is moral support and also spiritual and financial support. It is holistic that the faithful the Archdiocese of Nairobi must support the process in all aspects,” said Rev Sr Esther Ichugu in an interview with CISA on September 5. Sr Ichugu, the administrator of the Nairobi Archdiocesan office of the Causes of Saints opined that all the documentation and evidence needed by the Vatican for the second step toward canonization has been filed and sent to Rome to be studied by the Congregation for Causes of Saints. “Now we’ve been waiting for them to give us a response on where they are, although the postulator had dedicated at the beginning of this year that he is almost through with the entire document. When the entire document is finished, it has to be subjected to scrutiny by the bishops and cardinals. So, we are waiting to hear whether the process of scrutiny has already started,” she said. Sr Ichugu, however, stressed that the process of canonization is very complex and thorough and urged the faithful to own the process through moral, spiritual and financial support. “So, if we don’t tell the Christians that it is their responsibility to pray for the process to ensure that the reputation is going and to ensure that the process has a miracle to move it to the next stage then we are doing zero work. We are doing nothing. Because the people in Rome are waiting for us. They are waiting to hear from us. We must own the process. And that is why we create aggressive awareness because the process is ours and we must own it. And when you own it, you will support it,” averred Sr Ichugu. The member of the Dimesse Sisters of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI) intimated that “there must be an extraordinary miracle, which is vital for the process to move on.” “These days, we have doing aggressive awareness. We have been sensitizing people on the importance of praying through the servant of God for an extraordinary miracle,” she emphasized. Born on January 31, 1923, in Chebukwa village, Bungoma County, Cardinal Otunga died on September 6, 2003, at the age of 80 after suffering cardiac arrest. He served the Church for 53 years as a priest, bishop and cardinal. His cause for canonization started in 2009 when the then Archbishop of Nairobi, John Cardinal Njue petitioned the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican to approve the process. The process of canonization referred to as a ‘cause’ is the period that permits the Church to verify whether the candidate enjoys a true and widespread reputation of holiness and of intercessory prayers. |
