Jubilee Celebration Not Moment of “canonization”: Catholic Bishop at Pauline Sister’s Silver Jubilee in Kenya

Silver Jubilee, Bishop Rodrigo said, is the “service that she has given to all in the Congregation and outside the Congregation, to society. This is a reason to celebrate. It's not the canonization.”

The Jubilee “is not the edification. We are not all holy, pure holy—no. We are not celebrating a canonization,” the Colombian-born member of the Society of Jesus (SJ/Jesuits) said in his June 18 homily.

The Silver Jubilee is a celebration of a stage of life. He said, “But we know that if we look back in the Jubilee, we are invited to look back, to give thanks for the past.”

The Nairobi-based Jesuit Bishop commended Sr. Moraa for her fruitful life of service in various countries as a Pauline Sister, including Tanzania, Kenya, and South Sudan.

“We see today, and the Congregation recognizes today in this celebration, that the life of Sister Moraa has produced fruits—that her life has not received the grace of God in vain. And that is a message for all of us,” Bishop Rodrigo said.

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Bishop Rodrigo poses for a photo with Sr. Mary Moraa, her parents and some of the Pauline Sisters. Credit: ACI Africa

He added, “When we examine ourselves and the great things we have received from God, we echo the words of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in today’s Gospel: ‘The Lord has done great things for me. Great is His name.’”

The Jubilee is a moment to renew one's heart and purpose and should lead to a transformation, he further said, and invited the people of God to participate in the  ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of Christmas 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“This year of favor of the Lord requires a conversion of hearts a renewed one,” he said, referring to the Gospel of St. Luke where Jesus proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor.

He added, “The Jubilee that the Catholic Church today celebrates and proposes is a year of conversion for the people of God at a personal level. Each one is called to enter into the spirit of a Jubilee year.”

Bishop Rodrigo explained that the Church celebrates the Jubilee every 25 years to allow for timely spiritual renewal. “To wait 50 years for our conversion is too risky. We may die before. Let us do that by steps, by 25, and live.”

In his June 18 homily, the Catholic Bishop also described the Jubilee as a time of healing and grace. “The Jubilee is a healing—has a healing power,” he said, noting that it allows people to reflect on their shortcomings with hope for renewal.

Sr. Mary Moraa Nyang'au taking her vows. Credit: ACI Africa

The Jubilee provides an opportunity for “healing of whatever was not so correct by our weakness, by our vulnerability. We were not as faithful as God is faithful to us,” Bishop Rodrigo said.

The Catholic Bishop went on to reflect on the day’s event and clarified that, though it was a “personal jubilee; it is not just an individual sign; it is a celebration of attaining and reaching the whole community of Pauline Sisters, of the Church, and humankind.”

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“This grace given to one individual of the group is a sign that she is in the right place,” he said, and added, “It is a blessing for the group. I think that there is no better vocation promotion for any Congregation than the celebration of the Jubilee.”

Bishop Rodrigo emphasized that “a Jubilee is not an individual grace; it is an indicator; it is a sign of the grace of God, of the charism, of the Constitution, and the essence and nature of the religious family of the Daughters of Saint Paul. There is no better vocation promotion than that.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.