No sooner had Pope Francis taken the mantle of leading the world's estimated 1.2 billion Catholics on March 19, 2013, than he honoured several members of the clergy and the laity with the Benemerenti Medal for their dedication to the church.
Among those honoured was 83-year-old Auguistine Muma Odongo, a retired teacher and devout Catholic in Nyakach, Kisumu County.