Pilgrims Share Stories of Conversion and Healing at National Marian Shrine in Kenya

The steep hill, marked with the Stations of the Cross, leads to a spring of water believed to offer miraculous healing to those who visit Subukia National Marian Shrine in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Nakuru.

Lydia Auma is at the tail end of hundreds of pilgrims panting as they scale the hill, praying. She joined other fellow pilgrims from St Austin’s Parish of the Archdiocese of Nairobi on their journey to the Marian Shrine that is widely known as the Village of Mary, Mother of God.

Lydia is here to thank the Blessed Virgin Mary for getting her family back after a 25-year separation from her husband. She believes that reuniting with her husband is an answer to prayers she offered at the Marian Shrine that is some 40km from Nakuru town. “I left my marriage 25 years ago. Being separated from my husband was very painful. I kept praying, asking God to reunite me with my husband. This was the main prayer item whenever I came here,” Lydia tells ACI Africa during the September 23 pilgrimage.

“Last month, I was reunited with my husband and children, and I am here to thank God and the Blessed Virgin Mary for bringing my family back. I now have a home. My heart is full,” she says.

“Subukia is very close to my heart,” she shares, adding that she never misses an opportunity to visit the Marian Shrine.

Lydia was in the company of some 760 members of St. Austin’s Parish, who made their pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine on Saturday, September 23, a fortnight before the October 7 National Prayer Day scheduled to take place at the National Marian Shrine belonging to the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB).

Those present shared testimonies of healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation in their families after visiting the Shrine, making a good confession and offering their prayer intentions at the grotto of Mary.

Agnes Aineah, Nakuru, 25 September, 2023

www.aciafrica.org