ARCHDIOCESAN FAMILY DAY 2020: CELEBRATING DIFFERENTLY

The celebration of the archdiocesan family day will be held on Saturday at the Holy Family Basilica. This great pastoral event in the archdiocesan calendar will be on 15^th August, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Despite the Corona Pandemic, the great fete will still be held, albeit, without the usual throngs of christians as well as the decor, pomp and color that always come to live during similar past events, because the archdiocese plans to comply fully with the government’s health regulations due to COVID 19.

This annual celebration, which is in its 11^th year, having started way back in 2010, will be attended by a congregation of 100 participants, inclusive of the clergy. The organising team, led by the Procurator, Fr. Simon Ng’ang’a, and the Pastoral Coordinator, Fr. Wallace Ng’ang’a, has identified the participants. All the 14 deaneries will be represented by their Deans and a section of the Deanery Pastoral Council executives. Others will be representatives of the various solidarity groups in the archdiocese level, archdiocesan finance council members, as well some members of the secretariet. This stands in total contrast to the over 20,000 congragation from all the 114 parishes, and the over 200 priests, both diocesan and missionary, who attended the 2019 Family Day on 10^th August at St. Mary’s Msongari, the exquisite venue that has hosted all the previous Family days.

Noting that this celebrations are coming when christians and the whole population are grappling with the challenging times in almost every sector due to the pandemic, the day will be dedicated to pray so that all may keep faith despite all the challenges. It will also be used to pray for the victims of the pandemic as well as those on the front line, and for all humnaity since all are affected.

As usual, in preparation to this great event, the archdiocesan Liturgical team, led by Fr. Bernard Kabiu prepared a Novena, which all the Christians in the archdiocese have been praying since Thursday, 6^th August. The pastoral letter by the ordinary, His Eminence John Cardinal Njue, on this occasion was relased mid-July.

The Holy oils (Oil of the sick, Catechumenate and Chrism), will be blessed during that Mass. The Holy Thursday Chrism Mass in which the oils are blessed, was not held since by that time, the church had been closed at the onset of the COVID19.

This will be indeed a unique Archdiocesan Family Day celebration.

(Cover photo Family Day 2018, Album Family Day 2019)