Nothing could stop Kenyans from celebrating mass with Pope Francis

Thousands of Catholic faithfuls gathered at designated venues on Thursday just to get a glimpse of Pope Francis who was officiating the mass at the University of Nairobi.

As the early morning rains drenched their customized regalia specifically meant for the Pope's visit, they braced the harsh weather condition with umbrellas, rain coats and heavy jackets.

With them they had symbols of admiration of Pope Francis ranging from 'Holy Crosses' to placards, T-shirts branded with the Pope's images and messages.

In the spirit of His Holiness Papal visit, patience was the most paramount virtue exhibited as faithfuls lined up for hours from GPO roundabout through Serena Hotel and State House Road just to watch the mass on the two screens mounted at Central Park.

Many were not stopped by the foul weather or the fact that they were not going to see the Holy Father face to face.

At Uhuru Park, three screens were mounted with anticipation of thousands of attendees only for a handful to show up, many of whom had travelled hundreds of kilometers just to watch the mass on the screens.

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In fact, the number of police personnel comprising the National Youth Service (NYS), Administration Police, Kenya Defense Force and regular police appeared more than the civilians themselves.

"There is nothing like bad weather. These are blessings that have come with the Pope and I could not miss the opportunity hence I had to make sure my whole family is here to witness. We were here by 6 am," said Mary Syongo from Machakos who was accompanied by her husband and three children.

Another faithful Monica Kiilu was ecstatic to attend the mass. "This is the second mass I am attending officiated by a Pope that is why I had to tag my son along with me for him to treasure this memory."

However, many preferred that the mass would have been held at Uhuru Park in order to attract larger crowds. "We know security is what warranted the mass to be held in UoN but Uhuru Park is still an ideal venue," said Chris Mutiso.

Despite not being in church or at the main venue, faithfuls still followed the Catholics traditions to the latter. When the congregation at UoN was instructed to stand up for prayers, the crowds at Central and Uhuru Park followed suit.

This happened religiously even before the translator could interpret in English what the Pope had instructed in Italian. Despite the language barrier, concentration was extremely high when the Pope was speaking a testimony that in the spiritual realm, there is only one language.

The faithfuls sang their hearts out along to the traditional rhythmic Catholic songs being performed at the main venue with bright faces and joyous hearts not caring about the rains or the fact that the Pope could not hear them.

Even the police themselves could not resist the meekness of Pope Francis. Compared to other gatherings, they appeared friendlier than usual radiating smiles all over.

They also could not resist the excitement that the Pope is in the country and for the first time they had their jobs to thank for giving them a front row seat in witnessing the spectacular moment.