124 W Freistadt Rd P.O. Box 94 Thiensville, WI 53092 USA
Kenya
Kenya – East Africa
Current Mission Updates
2025 – 2026 Updates
Mission in Kenya (MFM): A Church that walks in Fraternity.
Pope Francis in the encyclical letter – Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) says: “a way of life marked by the flavor of the Gospel” (no. 1). Is the gift of Fraternity!
In the Kenya mission, we MFM missionaries have the joy of providing pastoral care at St. Jude Parish, which belongs to Garissa Diocese, Bura Tana County in Eastern Kenya. Currently, three priests are working in this parish: Fr. Rolando Choc Matzir, pastor; and two parochial vicars: Fr. José Ernesto Yoc Ávila and Fr. Eddy Leopoldo Miguel Ixmatá Saloj.
Our parochial work extends to seven small communities: St. Mary, St. Paul, St. Thomas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph, St. Anthony, and St. Stephen. Each Sunday, with enthusiasm and joy, we travel to each community to celebrate the Eucharist with them, bringing the presence of Christ and strengthening the life of faith in each of them. At the parish church – St. Jude Thaddeus- the Eucharistic celebration is done daily; hence, it is the source and summit of our pastoral life.(Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium 10).
Community life is also strengthened through three small communities that meet during the week to share Lectio Divina, pray the Holy Rosary, and have a room for encountering the Word of God, prayer, and fraternity. At the end of each month, we celebrate the Eucharist in the venue where these communities meet: Jumuiya St. Peter, Jumuiya St. Mary Help of Christians and Jumuiya St. Bakhita. (Jumuiya is a Kiswahili word for: Small Christian Community).
Currently, three priests are working in this parish where Fr. Rolando Choc Matzir – pastor; and two parochial vicars: Fr. José Ernesto Yoc Ávila and Fr. Eddy Leopoldo Miguel Ixmatá Saloj.
Four missionaries in Kenya_
Women Pastoral Ministry in Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa
Church women in Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa_
Men Pastoral Ministry in Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa
Church men in Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa_
Catechists of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa. 2025
Catechists of St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, Bura Tana, Kenya, Africa. 2025
On Saturdays, the parish comes especially alive with the participation of the different pastoral groups: Women’s Pastoral Ministry, Men’s Pastoral Ministry, Youth Pastoral Ministry, Community Leaders, Catechists and Animators, Altar Servers, and Missionary Childhood (PMC). These encountering moments allow children, young people, and adults to receive comprehensive training/formation aimed at human and spiritual growth, Christian commitment, and service to the community.
A special room within our mission is held by St. Jude Parish School, accompanied by the religious sisters assigned by their superior and ratified by the ordinary Bishop, George Muthaka, OFM, Cap. As priests, we have the opportunity to accompany the entire educational community, especially through the celebration of the Eucharist done in Kiswahili or English.
The school is also a beautiful testimony to coexistence and fraternity. In its classrooms, Christian and Muslim children share everyday life. This reality invites us to build bridges, overcome every form of discrimination, and discover in the other person a brother or sister. In this way, the school becomes not only a room for academic learning but also a place where respect, friendship, solidarity and fraternity are cultivated.
Our mission in Kenya is, above all, an experience of encounter: encounter with God, with the communities and with a culture that teaches us new ways of living the faith each day. Through the Eucharist, listening to the Word of God, training and pastoral accompaniment, we seek to journey with the people entrusted to us, sharing their joys, hopes and challenges.
Fr. Julio Antonio Rodriguez with St. Francis_ Children_
Kenya – Fr. Julio Antonio Rodriguez with St. Francis_ Children_
Currently, three priests are working in this parish where Fr. Rolando Choc Matzir – pastor; and two parochial vicars: Fr. José Ernesto Yoc Ávila and Fr. Eddy Leopoldo Miguel Ixmatá Saloj.
Saloj and Children in Bura Tana, Kenya
Fr. Julio Antonio Rodriguez enjoy lunch with a family in village 2
Kenya – Lunch with a family in village 2
Fun day for PMC at St. Jude Academy grounds. Bura Tana, Garissa Diocese, Eastern Kenya, Africa
Kenya – Fun day for PMC at St. Jude Academy grounds. Bura Tana, Garissa Diocese, Eastern Kenya, Africa
As MFM Missionaries, we thank God for the gift of this particular mission and for every person who is part of it. Amid cultural and religious diversity, we discover that the Gospel urges us to be builders of communion, dialogue and fraternity. Kenya thus becomes a place where mission becomes life and where, walking together, we learn that faith is also proclaimed through presence, service and love.
Constitution of the Missionary Fraternity of Mary # 9b – Community Life:
“Community life, then, creates among the members an atmosphere of familiarity that encourages and stimulates each of its members to live out the radical nature of the Christian vocation and the perfection of self-giving to God and the Church and that strengthens the apostolic mission of the Fraternity.”
2024 Updates
How can others support this mission?
Supporting this mission can take various forms, and each contribution makes a difference. Here are some ways others can support the Fraternity’s mission:
Prayer: 🙏 Encourage others to pray for the success of the mission, the well-being of the priests, and the spiritual growth of the community. Prayer is a powerful force that sustains and uplifts.
Financial Support: Donations play a crucial role in sustaining the mission. Individuals can contribute financially to cover operational costs, support outreach programs, and provide resources for the parish community. Make a Donation- click here.
2023 Updates
Fr. Julio Rodriguez who worked for seven years in the Formation program in Guatemala, was assigned to serve at St. Jude Parish in Bura Tana, Diocese of Garissa, Kenya.
2022 Updates
The construction of a new worship site is now complete at the St. Jude Catholic Church. Garissa Diocese. The number of Catholics is increasing in a predominantly Muslim area.
2021 Updates
Kenya: In May 2021, two additional priests joined the missions in the Diocese of Garissa and Malindi Diocese
Our Mission began early in 2000 with three Fraternity seminarians (Onildo, Jose, and Pedro), when they finished their studies in Guatemala, they traveled to Kenya and were received by the priests of the St. Paul Community in Wema Parish (at that time Diocese of Garissa), now Wema belongs to Malindi Diocese.
After one year of experience as missionaries, learning the language and the Kenyan culture, the three seminarians were ordained Priests in Malindi, Malindi Diocese.
The blessings of God have been many in our mission in Kenya. Since the beginning, we have been in the Diocesis of Malindi, in the coast side of the country.
Two Mission areas, Lango Baya Catholic Mission and Mere Catholic Mission. In both Missions mostly the populations are Guiriamas (one of the 44 tribes in Kenya)…
In the year of 2005, the Fraternity received a new mission in the Diocese of Garissa, in the St. Jude Catholic Parish in the District of Bura Tana.
Currently two priests (Fr. Ernesto Contreras and Fr. Julio Veliz) are working in this mission. St. Jude Parish.
Building the Catholic community through the Youth ministry
Fr. Alex Rodriguez worked with a community members to prepare the land to plant maiz. The fruits of evangelization come by example.
Kenya
Current Mission Updates
2025 – 2026 Updates
Mission in Kenya (MFM): A Church that walks in Fraternity.
Pope Francis in the encyclical letter – Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) says: “a way of life marked by the flavor of the Gospel” (no. 1). Is the gift of Fraternity!
In the Kenya mission, we MFM missionaries have the joy of providing pastoral care at St. Jude Parish, which belongs to Garissa Diocese, Bura Tana County in Eastern Kenya. Currently, three priests are working in this parish: Fr. Rolando Choc Matzir, pastor; and two parochial vicars: Fr. José Ernesto Yoc Ávila and Fr. Eddy Leopoldo Miguel Ixmatá Saloj.
Our parochial work extends to seven small communities: St. Mary, St. Paul, St. Thomas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joseph, St. Anthony, and St. Stephen. Each Sunday, with enthusiasm and joy, we travel to each community to celebrate the Eucharist with them, bringing the presence of Christ and strengthening the life of faith in each of them. At the parish church – St. Jude Thaddeus- the Eucharistic celebration is done daily; hence, it is the source and summit of our pastoral life.(Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium 10).
Community life is also strengthened through three small communities that meet during the week to share Lectio Divina, pray the Holy Rosary, and have a room for encountering the Word of God, prayer, and fraternity. At the end of each month, we celebrate the Eucharist in the venue where these communities meet: Jumuiya St. Peter, Jumuiya St. Mary Help of Christians and Jumuiya St. Bakhita. (Jumuiya is a Kiswahili word for: Small Christian Community).
On Saturdays, the parish comes especially alive with the participation of the different pastoral groups: Women’s Pastoral Ministry, Men’s Pastoral Ministry, Youth Pastoral Ministry, Community Leaders, Catechists and Animators, Altar Servers, and Missionary Childhood (PMC). These encountering moments allow children, young people, and adults to receive comprehensive training/formation aimed at human and spiritual growth, Christian commitment, and service to the community.
A special room within our mission is held by St. Jude Parish School, accompanied by the religious sisters assigned by their superior and ratified by the ordinary Bishop, George Muthaka, OFM, Cap. As priests, we have the opportunity to accompany the entire educational community, especially through the celebration of the Eucharist done in Kiswahili or English.
The school is also a beautiful testimony to coexistence and fraternity. In its classrooms, Christian and Muslim children share everyday life. This reality invites us to build bridges, overcome every form of discrimination, and discover in the other person a brother or sister. In this way, the school becomes not only a room for academic learning but also a place where respect, friendship, solidarity and fraternity are cultivated.
Our mission in Kenya is, above all, an experience of encounter: encounter with God, with the communities and with a culture that teaches us new ways of living the faith each day. Through the Eucharist, listening to the Word of God, training and pastoral accompaniment, we seek to journey with the people entrusted to us, sharing their joys, hopes and challenges.
As MFM Missionaries, we thank God for the gift of this particular mission and for every person who is part of it. Amid cultural and religious diversity, we discover that the Gospel urges us to be builders of communion, dialogue and fraternity. Kenya thus becomes a place where mission becomes life and where, walking together, we learn that faith is also proclaimed through presence, service and love.
Constitution of the Missionary Fraternity of Mary # 9b – Community Life:
“Community life, then, creates among the members an atmosphere of familiarity that encourages and stimulates each of its members to live out the radical nature of the Christian vocation and the perfection of self-giving to God and the Church and that strengthens the apostolic mission of the Fraternity.”
2024 Updates
How can others support this mission?
2023 Updates
2022 Updates
2021 Updates
2019 Updates
2018 Update