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Thursday, August 11, 1988 Courier-Journal St. John Fisher extends hand of friendship to help bu By Teresa A. Parsons To perhaps a dozen bishops and priests from the East African nation of Kenya, Rochester, NY, is more than an anonymous city in a land of ice and snow, endless opportunity and faceless generosity. And to dozens of parishioners in Pittsford, Mendon, and Rochester, such exotic-sounding locations as Bun- goma, Murang'a, and Nakuru have become more than dimly imagined jungle landscapes. They are the homes of friends. Friendship is only one of the benefits produced by nearly two decades of cultural and educational exchange ' between St. John Fisher College and several dioceses in Kenya. Since the mid-1960s, four Kenyan priests who earned degrees on scholarships to the Pittsford college have been ordained bishops, and now head dioceses in their own country. As many as 10 other Kenyan priests who are Fisher alumni include pastors, seminary rectors, the principal of a high school and a member of the Vatican's Secretari- at for Promoting Christian Unity. \Their record has been remarkable in Kenya;' observed Basilian Father Joseph Dorsey, former academic vice president and dean at St. John Fisher. \Having a de- gree and the education consonant with that further qualified them for episcopal posts, but they were out- % standing young men to start with. . ,-\ ' \We found then not only extremely able (studerfts);; but felt this was a contribution we could make to th'eL\ Church in East Africa,\ Father Dorsey added. \We also found it an enriching experience for our students and for the college.\ Through contact with their Kenyan visitors, members of the college community as well as parishioners of churches where the priests spent weekends and holidays have glimpsed the sparkling energy and enthusiasm of the burgeoning Catholic Church in Africa. \Our folks have been enriched just by the exposure to what their life was like ... to the customs of another country and to the fact that the Church is growing so rapidly in Africa; explained Sister Alice Cooney, pas; toral assistant at St. Catherine's Church in Mendon, where several Kenyan priests have served. \This has been a tremendous contribution of the Church in Rochester to the Church in Kenya.\ The Rochester-Kenya connection began with a sim- ple request from the friend of a friend of the late Fa- ther Charles Lavery, CSB. Monsignor William,Kaiser, a Rochester native who served with the Near-East Mis- sion Reiief Society, was acquainted with Father Lavery, and also with Archbishop J. J. O'Connor, a Holy Ghost priest who worked as a missionary in Kenya for more than 40 years prior to being named Archbishop of Nairo- bi during the 1960s. Several years before Archbishop O'Connor was ap- pointed to the Nairobi post, He visited the United States, during which time Monsignor Kaiser introduced him and Father Lavery, who was at that time president of St. John Fisher College. Archbishop O'Connor proposed that Fa- ther Lavery provide a Kenyan priest with the chance.to eajn a dej^fe-fromflfte college. J^_ •../. ; i• [ ibsai^^o^, serii^ary training wasrelagpjjj^g^^ •,: MWefeyoting5men ^East^frica.-Howev^^p^^^ ty of colleges and j^iver^itffeliinade.^r^l^i^^e: chances of gaining admission arid the cost of earning an academic degree. As a result of Archbishop O'Con- nor's proposal, Father Nicodemus Kirima arrived on the Fisher campus in 1964. Father Dorsey recalls the first Kenyan visitor as \a bril- liant student\ who earned a bachelor's degree in two Kenyan prie§t has simple aim in mind Judging by the records of his predecessors, the young Kenyan priest who arrived at St. John Fish- er College earlier this year to study psychology and business manage- ment has a better-than-average chance to someday become Bishop Stephen Mbugua. Of nearly one dozen Kenyan pri- ests who have studied at the Pitts- ford campus during the past 20 years, four now head dioceses in their East African homeland. But Father Mbugua has a sim- pler aim in mind. \I told my bish- op that I would be the one to break tradition;' he said with a smile. \1 would prefer to be a parish priest\ Bishop Peter Kairo, head of Fa- ther Mbugua's home Diocese of Molo, attended Fisher in the late 1970s. But it was while serving as an assistant to Bishop Rafael Ndin- gi of the Diocese of Nakuru — who received word of his episcopal ap- pointment the day after he. gradu- ated from St. John Fisher in 1967 — that Father Mbugua was offered a chance to study in the United States. When he stepped onto American soil in February, Father Mbugua's first reaction was to retreat inside the airport and close the door. He had never experienced anything like the bone-chilling cold of winter in Rochester, N.Y. A warm reception from the Basilian Fathers and the communi- ty at St. John Fisher College have helped the 29-year-old Kenyan adapt to a more pervasive shock — that of immersion into a foreign culture, and what in many ways is a foreign Church. Compared to its U.S. counter- part, the Church in Kenya is in its childhood. Founded in 1959, the Diocese of Molo — among the country's first — is no older than Father Mbugua. In size, Kenyan parishes are comparable to U.S. dioceses. The parish where Father Mbugua served, for instance, encompasses more than 600 square miles, while the Diocese of Molo covers nearly to 6,000 miles. Unlike the Church in America,' where Catholics struggle with such issues as authority, dissent, and the roles of women, Kenyan Catholics' concerns are basic, focusing on education and development. \'More than half of the parishes in my diocese have no (running) water,\ Father Mbugua pointed out. Spiritually, the Church in Kenya is \in the age of evangelization;' he said. While the priest shortage in more developed nations has prompted the recall of many missionaries, vocations among Kenyans are in- BofwtoTraMM/Courtor-JourMl Father Stephen Mbugua, 29, the mdet recent Kenyan arrival at St. John Fisher Cotege. was bom hi the same year as his home Diocese of Molo. creasing in spite of cultural impediments. \In Ken- ya, becoming a priest is not seen as a virtue;' Father Mbugua explained. \According to our tradition, if one doesn't marry and have children, his life kind of terminates at his death.\ For parents and other family members, a vocation to priesthood also represents an economic hardship since it represents a loss of potential income that would help educate siblings and care for the elderly. As such cultural barriers are overcome and the ranks of African priests increase, Father Mbugua predicts the ministry of the Church in Kenya will ex- pand to other countries and continents. \We are hop- ing in the future to go out into the world and serve as missionaries ourselves!' he said. The friendships forged wjth'Kenyan i Cooney (right), pastoral' assistant at' St years, then went on to earn a master's in sociology from the University of Rochester the following year.. While studyingj^^r%th$r^|c^\ v l[i^^for^@rne'at St. Catherine's Parish arjSN^fndon, where mention of his name,still elicits enthusiastic responses. \He was the, m(^a^^^4i^Pr|^MiPM^Hr^ the r>arish i^tary^ his habit ofgeating peas with a butter knife-& \We all feltfterrible whetfhefeftl' DeVoldre added. \He was so full-of kindnessand love.\ Upon his return to Nairobi in 1968, Father Kirima served as rector of St. Thomas; Aquinas Seminary prior to being named Bishop of Mombasa, a diocese located on Kenya's east coasit''.' \ , * :•*. Meanwhile, a secdftd Kenyan priest. Father Rafael Ndingi, had arrived in 19641b study social science, at Fisher. Father Paul. G. Wohlrab* with whom Father Ndingi lived at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church'dur- ing part of his stay, recalls the priest;as \a very influen- tial person!' \He had a great effect on the people he met,\ Father Wohlrab recalled. \They seemed to simply be drawn to hirn>. He, was very outgoing, and yet very considerate!' Father Ndingr's talent for leadership was apparently ;no secret among his superiors. The day after he gradu- ated in 1967, the priest was called to Washington, D.C., where he Wits informed that he was the new bishop of the Diocese of Machakos, Kenya. \He Was such a fine churchman I used to kid with him that he would become a bishop;' Father Wohlrab said. |'I was not surprised (by the appointment) because £f hatfswn:is\icrr ; ffihe^qualitieHn him. Frankly, I don't think he was (surprised) either:' Bishop Ndingi currently serves as Bishop of Nakuru and as chairman of the Kenyan bishops' conference. \Persohilly; I would predict tharsorrieday he wiltffce* corile a cardinal;* Father Wohlrab said. Bishop Ndingi was responsible for Father Peter Kairo's presence in Rochester during chelate 1970s. Younger and more reserved than his predecessors, Father Kairo spent most of his two-year stay living with the community of Basilian Fathers at Fisher. Once he returned to Kenya, Father Kairo. followed in Bishop Kirima's footsteps, serv- ing for several years as spiritual director of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Nairobi prior to being named Bish- op of Murang'a in 1981 Bishop Longinus Attundq is the most recent Fisher graduate to earn an episcopal appointment in Kenya. Named last year to head the brand-new Diocese of Bun- goma, Kenya, Father Attundo arrived in Rochester via a different route than his predecessors. His superior, Bishop Philip Sulumeti of the Diocese .of Kakamega, met Father John Reddington, then pastor of St. Louis Church in Pittsford, while both \were studying in Rome. Bishop Sulumeti subsequently visited the Pittsford parish several times, and eventually requested Father Reddington's help in educating the priests of his dio- cese. Father Reddington then joined forces with Father Lavery at Fisher, and Father Attundo's arrival in 1980 was the result. What those who. knew him recall most vividly is his grin. 'He had a mile of a smile!' Father Reddington said. \He just radiated warmth and friendship and lover of SJ*» In Mendon Lestho (centerp to travel to 1 The !vfelii|6Ja^amily, with whom F spent many'Krjfi^s, remembers theirf ble comW^tjofepf dignity and childli Easter Sunda>#«; delighted in spendir with;theMiKtf§^children hunting for ision, Marcia Mendc the window^atjher garden and caught i Attundo;eatirtg;i)i}5 of her flowers. Wh he explained|.|S|Pthe berries inside the as a JaDallse lantern, were considerei Kenya\: '-v^^r\' \I once asked, him what he would hi a festive occasion back home;' she said zebra!*';-\it- \ When Father Attundo learned that he Bishop Attundo, he wrote to the Mendole to his ordination in June, 1987, and askii port and prayers. \We always kidded wit be the first black pope, and that we'd all for the, ceremony\ Marcia Mendola re« we couldn't go, we wrote back and sail agreement wj&that we'd come when yoi . not 'bishop?*/ More than a few other individuals an also remained in contact with Kenyan pri« through letters and even occasional visii years ago, Bishop Kirima returned to St. a visit. He planned another such trip i mark his. 25th jubilee. MeanwhilftgSster Cooney and Ju The Mendola family of Pittsford. wfrJ has promised to travel to Roma when
