The late Archbishop Emeritus John Njenga of Mombasa has finally been laid to rest.
Archbishop Njenga who died aged 90 at Nairobi's Mater Hospital on November 4, was laid to rest at the Holy Family Minor Basilica in Nairobi, in a ceremony witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, his Deputy William Ruto, former Vice President Moody Awori among other government and religious leaders.
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"I have had the opportunity to know Archbishop John Njenga almost all my life. He was a man of humility, a man of great humor, a man dedicated to the service of God and to the service of man, not just to satisfy their spiritual needs but also their human needs," said Kenyatta, on Tuesday.
The late Archbishop's funeral Mass was held at the University of Nairobi grounds from 10am.
According to Fr Willybard Lagho, the vicar-general of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa, if the late Njenga had not indicated his wish to be buried in Nairobi, his remains would have been interred in Mombasa, the archdiocese he led for 17 years.
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"He cannot be buried inside the Holy Family Cathedral as it happened with Bishop Cornelius Korir who was buried inside the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Eldoret in November 2017, because a bishop is only buried inside a church if he dies while in office," explained Fr Lagho.
He said Archbishop Njenga's burial site would be a crypt (a room under the floor of a church where bodies are buried) at the Holy Family Basilica since he had already retired in 2005 as the archbishop of Mombasa.
"The crypt is outside the cathedral, but within the building's compound. The special crypt was constructed a few years ago by the clergy of Nairobi, who wanted to have special graves for bishops. It has several spaces for the burial of bishops and archbishops and even a cardinal. He happened to be the first to die after the crypt was created."