Like Sr Irene, we must wear our ‘boots of faith’ with pride

Today, our country is hosting the first ever beatification ceremony to be held on the African soil.

Sr Irene Stefani “Nyaatha” is today being elevated one step away from sainthood in Nyeri where she spent most of her missionary life.

Although she shall not be the first to be beatified in Africa, she shall be the first to be beatified in Kenya, and the first to be beatified on the African soil (beatification ceremonies have hitherto been held in the Vatican until Pope Benedict XVI simplified the process opening way for the momentous ceremony to be hosted in countries where the candidate worked and died.

So, how did a simple Italian girl who took the ship to Kenya shortly after taking her vows rise to this enviable glory in the world?

The answer is as simple as the legendary boots she wore to scour the hills of Gikondi in Nyeri, searching for the sick and abandoned to take care of, and -- despite the language barrier then -- share with them the hope that is Christ.

In her now famous motto -All for Christ, nothing for me -- you could say Sr Irene faithfully walked the long undulating path of faith to sainthood literally.

To understand how much the boots contributed to her holiness, you and I must walk in them -- a pair of cragged leather boots that at one time made her wince in pain from blistered feet, but whose steady tread brought hope to hundreds of simple souls in Gikondi, some of who remember her todate.

BOOTS OF GLORY

It is no wonder that Sr Irene’s first autobiography authored by Sr Gian Paola Mina was aptly titled, The Boots of Glory!

Sr Irene’s boots defied more than the dark, rough, cold and mosquito infested hills of Gikondi, they defied superstitions, denomination (She never at any one time demanded that her patients be Catholics first) age, social status and in some cases as exemplified by the fatal case that is said to have led to her death.

Witnesses said that she was buried in her boots of glory and that when her grave was exhumed to move her relics into Mathari Catholic parish they found her boots intact.

Today the worn out boots have become synonymous with Sr Irene’s unrelenting service to God and His people, her unwavering faith in Christ’s healing mission.

Long before she died, Sr Irene had already become a legend on the the hills of Gikondi where locals used to call her Nyaatha (Gikuyu for the merciful one). Local villagers knew they could count on her for all manner of ailments -- from common flu to the plague -- a fatal disease that ravaged the villages then.

They would send for her when one of them fell sick in the middle of the night, rain or sunshine, and Sr Irene would  rise, climb into her biting leather boots and head out into the darkness, rain and cold, graciously squeezing into forlorn thatched huts that held the sick and the dying, with a courage that sprang from faith.

Even as she selflessly fought to save the villagers’ lives, she would talk to them about Christ and baptism; ever gentle, she preached and instructed patiently before finally baptizing them. Available records indicate that she baptized more than 1,000 people in Gikondi.

NOT COMFORTABLE

I have no doubt in my mind that Sr Irene’s boots were not as comfortable as, say, your average pair of Safari Boots or some other branded leather boots in today’s shopping malls. 

I have no doubt in my mind that they were, at times, very uncomfortable; that a lady her age at that time and period would have frowned at owning only one pair.

But Sr Irene was not one to waste precious missionary time thinking about fashion, All for Jesus, nothing for me she used to say, as she hurried to the next hill to offer comfort to another sick soul.

Her life was marked by self-denial and tireless devotion, zeal and apostolic charity. She taught with all her heart, without ever wanting personal satisfaction, but always aiming at the good of each individual.

It is not surprising that villagers named her Nyaaatha -- the merciful one. By the time this name stuck, she had been called many adoring names: the Sister who loves everyone, the always smiling Sister, the Sister who walks fast, the all Compassionate Sister, the Sister who always speaks of God.

When she was alive, Sr Irene did not work miracles, did not go into ecstasies, had no mystical experiences, and did not write any books on spirituality. In her, everything was simple and ordinary.

But she was extraordinary in the way she lived the faith. Here was a woman burning with faith, whose charity knew no barriers, whose hope she readily shared with everyone that she met.

It is not surprising then, that today -- 85 years after her death -- the spirit of Sr Irene still lives in us; she lives in the hearts of those who met her; in both those who heard the stead footsteps of her boots as she approached their desolate huts to bring healing and hope, and those who, like her, must, in her honour, wear our boots of faith with pride, and go out of our way to live true to Christ’s mission like she did.

Fr Mkado is the Chief Editor of The Seed, a monthly magazine published by Consolata Missionaries.