Success only comes to those who are upright, Pope Francis tells Kenyans

People gather at the University of Nairobi for a mass conducted by Pope Francis, yesterday.

In his first full day in the country, Pope Francis rooted for strong family values that are a bedrock for any good society, preached religious tolerance and once again urged the youth to be upright.

It was a busy day for the pontiff, that started with an inter-religious faith meeting at 8am. This was followed by a public mass at the University of Nairobi grounds, then a meeting with the clergy and seminarians before winding up with a forum at United Nations offices in Nairobi.

Despite the early morning rains, excited Kenyans trooped to the different venues to catch a glimpse of the Pope. And they were not disappointed, as the pontiff matched their expectation even slowing down his car to shake hands with some people.

A congregation that police estimated at over 200,000 braved the morning chills to attend mass at University of Nairobi grounds, where the Pope extolled family virtues and prayed that God blesses all Kenyans with peace.

“Kenyan society has long been blessed with strong family life, a deep respect for the wisdom of the elderly and love for children. The health of any society depends on the health of its families,” said the pontiff in his homily to the audience that included President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto, former president Mwai Kibaki and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The Pope also emphasised the critical role of the youth in shaping society.

“Here, in the heart of this university, where the minds and hearts of new generations are being shaped, I appeal in a special way to the young people of the nation. Let the great values of Africa’s traditions, the wisdom and truth of God’s word, and the generous idealism of your youth guide you in working to shape a society which is ever more just, inclusive and respectful of human dignity,” he said.

Earlier, as he rode into the grounds in his open white popemobile, the crowd broke into chants of “Pope! Pope!” as song and dance reverberated across the rain-drenched grounds.

The Pope went into the changing rooms where he dressed in the celebration attire, before appearing again at 9.57am.

He blessed the celebrants and consecrated the altar-a 100-year-old artifact that was brought to Nairobi last week from Nyeri. The altar was used during last May’s historical beatification of Blessed Sister Irene Stefani.

The series mass-which are conducted in between weekdays-started at 10am. In a 30-minute sermon the pope centered his message on the first reading from the book of Isaiah that dwells on blessings that God promised Jacob, among them blessing his descendants.

“You will succeed whenever and wherever there is the gospel. Christian families have one mission, to spread the gospel,” said the pontiff who preached in Italian.

The Pope praised Kenyan families for their unity, as he called on learning institutions to mentor the youth in uprightness.

“Your generous ideas should guide you well. Reject everything that leads to prejudice and disrespect,” he said extolling the need to cultivate love among each other.

“Ensure the families and the society is stable if you want to breed success,” he added.

He prayed to God to help Kenyans as he concluded in a Swahili statement, “Mungu awabariki (God bless you), Mungu abariki Kenya (God bless Kenya).” This drew loud applause from the congregation.

Charles Balvo, the Pope’s representative to Kenya, Catholic Church head, John Cardinal Njue, and tens of bishops and archbishops helped conduct the mass. Hundreds of priests also played a part, especially during offering of the Holy Eucharist.

Immediately after the mass, the Pope gifted Cardinal Njue with a box with a shiny chalice, used during the blessing of the Eucharist.

The Pope was driven in a Honda Ballade through an exit at the rear side of the mega dais, as enthusiastic worshipers reached out to him.

At one point, he got out of the vehicle and beckoned for some in the audience to be let through, throwing his security into a spin.