Church that won’t easily forget its past

St Joseph Milimani Catholic church is 116-years-old. PHOTO | ELIZABETH OJINA | NATION.

What you need to know:

  • On December 18, 1903, Fr Leonard Van den Bergh opened the first parish church in Kisumu. For years, the church served as the mother parish for western Kenya.
  • But the missionaries quickly spread to Mumias (1904), Ojolla (mother of Luo parishes) and Kakamega (1906). Within three years, they had established four stations in the region.

  • In 1908, Fr Luke Plunkett opened another station in Nakuru to cater for Catholics working at the railway station there.

  • St Joseph priests would make monthly visits to Nakuru, as well as other towns along the railway line. This went on until 1928, when Nakuru became an independent parish

In the leafy suburbs of Milimani in Kisumu sits St Joseph Church, one of the oldest Catholic institutions in Kenya, dating back more than a century.

By 1901, the Kenya-Uganda railway had reached Kisumu, and trains would make stopovers at Kibos Railway Station.

PRESENT SITE

The Mill Hill Missionaries arrived in Kisumu by train in 1903. Led by Fr Nicholas Stam, they walked to Bandani village, then mostly inhabited by construction workers, where they settled down and held their first Mass on February 2, 1903.

On December 18, 1903, Fr Leonard Van den Bergh opened the first parish church in Kisumu. For years, the church served as the mother parish for western Kenya.

But the missionaries quickly spread to Mumias (1904), Ojolla (mother of Luo parishes) and Kakamega (1906). Within three years, they had established four stations in the region.

In 1908, Fr Luke Plunkett opened another station in Nakuru to cater for Catholics working at the railway station there.

The chairman of St Joseph Milimani Parish, Mr Barack Okumu, says that for 20 years Nakuru was a branch of the St Milimani parish.

“St Joseph priests would make monthly visits to Nakuru, as well as other towns along the railway line. This went on until 1928, when Nakuru became an independent parish,” he said.

Kisii Town station was opened by Fr Gorgonius Brandsman in 1910, and in 1911 a new station was opened in Nyabururu. That same year, John Bierman was named titular bishop.

From Bandani, the church moved to a place opposite the Aga Khan Hall, where the current Jamia Mosque stands, but the missionaries later moved it to its present site, and finally completed its construction on May 2, 1908.

In the compound is the bishop’s residence, known as Bishop Brandman’s House. It was built in 1923.

Mr Okumu says since it was named a national heritage site, very few changes or modifications have been done to it.

WOODEN PILLARS

“According to the Antiquities and Monument Act, we cannot interfere with the structure. We can only do limited renovations. You can see the pillars, which are made of wood, are still strong,” he said.

The former bishop’s residence today serves as the church office.

 “Originally, the church served only Goans and Whites. Blacks were not allowed to worship here. They would go to Kibuye church. But in mid-1970s, they were finally allowed to attend Mass at St Joseph Milimani,” Mr Okumu said.

There were two services on Sunday, at 7am and 9am.

Pieces of the original church’s foundation stones are stored in the church, which was designed by Fr Leo Bartels.

“On the left side of the church we have remnants of the church’s past glory. They include artefacts from an ancient burial site, and fruits from a yago tree under which the Milimani priest would celebrate an annual memorial mass on November 2,” Mr Okumu says.

Years later, the first African, Fr Emmanuel Amollo, took over as the parish priest.

Currently, Fr Oliver Thambo is the priest.