By Kamiri Munyaka and Mwangi Gaitha

Catherine Wangari Giitwa, 95, speaks with the confidence of one who has been face-to-face with a saint — a live saint. But why not? She is a student of Blessed Sister Irene Stefani (Nyaatha), a person the Catholic faithful believe is serving God in heaven alongside angels and the likes of Saint Peter and Moses? Giitwa speaks about Sister Nyaatha with such fond memories. 

The blessed sister, commonly referred to as Nyaatha, derived from Kikuyu term Nyina wa tha – loosely translated as “mother of mercy”-  was officially declared “Blessed” in May 2015.

And as the Catholic faithful worldwide prepare to celebrate Blessed Nyaatha’s day tomorrow, the elderly woman in Nyeri is proud to have not only met Nyaatha but also to have been taught catechism by her when she was a missionary at Gikondi Catholic Church. 

Giitwa was six-years-old when Sister Nyaatha died. Nearly 90 years later, her glazed eyes glow as she describes the Sister’s kindness and generosity.

“She loved everybody and was also generous. We loved her very much as she used to give us sweets and biscuits during catechism. Indeed I remember her nostalgically as I had never seen such a kind-hearted woman,” she said.

Blessed Nyaatha, who was born Aurelia Mercede Stefani on August 22, 1891 in Anfo, Italy died in October 1930 at the youthful age of 39.

Deadly plague 

She succumbed to an incurable plague, which she contracted while selflessly attending to a victim of the disease.

Giitwa was one of the few residents from the little known Mbari ya Ngura village, Gikondi location, Mukurwe-ini in Nyeri, who visited Sister Irene the day she passed on nearly a century ago.

The Italian nun of the Roman Catholic church and a member of the Consolata Missionary Sisters was cleared for beatification after a miracle found to have been attributed to her intercession was ratified in 2014. She was beatified on behalf of Pope Francis by Cardinal Polycarp Pengo. Beatification is a recognition by the Catholic Church of a dead person’s entry to heaven. Faithful can pray through her or ask her to intercede on their behalf.

“I will never forget that one day, she (Blessed Nyaatha) took me to Nyeri town and back on the mule she used for transport as vehicles were very few then. Another time, she bought me a very beautiful flowery dress,” she said smiling broadly.

Giitwa, who was clad in a long dress, pull-neck and a cardigan to guard herself against cold was born in 1924, nine years after Blessed Irene Stefani settled at Gikondi in her mission to spread the Gospel and treat the sick. Besides the biting cold she did not decline our request for an interview.

She believes in the Bible verse, which says “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it – Proverbs 22:6, King James Version. Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him adds Verse 13 of the same chapter”.

These Bible verses appear to have been the reference point of Catherine’s parents.

Her late mother Clotilda Wambui was among the first villagers to be converted to Catholicism after the arrival of Consolata missionaries in Nyeri. The missionaries settled at Mathari area at the foot of Nyeri hills.

It is these missionaries who taught Giitwa’s mother the Biblical verses of bringing up children. A staunch Catholic, Giitwa claims she has never wavered from her faith throughout her life.

Journey of faith

Her journey of faith started after her birth when she was baptised and went through all the rites of a Catholic follower. 

“My mother took me for baptism three days after birth,” said the mother-of-ten and many grandchildren.

She added that her mother introduced her to Blessed Sister Irene Stefani, who she repeatedly referred to as “Mwari Irene”, the Kikuyu translation of Sister Irene and they became great friends.

The grandmother says she adored Sister Irene’s compassion in treating the sick and restoring hope to the villagers who had been struck by plague and other ailments. 

“Unfortunately the plague also struck her and she died,” she said, adding that they were among the last people to see her alive.

“My mother and I were going to visit my father at Parklands where he worked and she told me we had to pass through Irene’s place because she was ailing,” she recalled, adding that since her father knew one of the head nuns of Consolata missionaries, a Sister Margaret who resided at Parklands convent, he would pass the message concerning Sister Irene Stefani ailment.

Later the same evening, she said, they arrived at Parklands and immediately walked to Sister Margaret’ residence. 

“We have just arrived from Gikondi and Sister Irene told us to tell you that she is sick,” the nonagenarian, who seems to have a very rich memory, quoted her mother as having informed Sister Margaret.

“Oh Clotilda, I have just received a phone call that she has just passed on,” she quoted Sister Margaret as having answered her mother while crying. She said her mother, who was a close friend to Sister Stefani, was inconsolable.

That was on October 31, 1930 and Wangari says the demise only strengthened her craving for more knowledge and the good things that she had learnt from her.

“Those of us who converted to Christianity then were firm not like today when many Christians abandon their faith when it does not suit them,” Giitwa said.

 However, her faith was seriously tested during the Mau Mau freedom struggle when several Christians were brutally executed because they were seen as siding with the colonialist.

She narrated how she once escaped death by a whisker after she was confronted by the dreaded Mau Mau freedom fighters.

“I had wrapped my son Gachau on my back and we met with the freedom fighters on the way. They asked me where I was heading and I told them I was taking my son to the hospital,” she said, adding that the fighters responded sarcastically, ‘If we knew he was sick we could have brought you medicine.’

“This was sarcastic as I knew they intended to kill me as they had done to other Catholic faithful for not compromising on their faith,” she said, adding that her son saved her from execution.

She added: “I was warned never to attend church services. Later, we were given refuge at the church until the struggle ended.”

And as the fourth annual celebration of Blessed Sister Irene Stefani’s beatification nears, the senior citizen advises Christians to be steadfast in their faith noting there is a reward in the life hereafter. She blames ills affecting society to deviation from the Bible teachings and wavering in faith “like a chicken whose head has been cut.’’

Sound advise

To the daughters of Eve, she said: “Respect and submit to your spouses for the sake of your marriage. In our days, divorce cases were minimal and marriages blissful as wives highly respected husbands. Husbands should also respect and love their wives for tranquillity to prevail at home. Gender violence would cease if spouses observe marriage vows.”

She said she has since stopped turning on her radio because of the everyday news of people killing each other. “They scare me,” she said.

The nonagenarian says the gospel of prosperity has led people to abandon the virtues “Nyaatha” and early Christians exemplified and taught leading to the current rot in society.

And though age has caught up with her, her mind is still fresh as if some of the things happened yesterday. 

“It is through the grace of God and faith in Him that I have come this far,” she said as she smiled broadly revealing an intact healthy dental formula.

Living Blessed Sister Irene’s dream, Giitwa appeals to the Catholic Church in Nyeri and Kenya at large, to re-open Gikondi Mission Hospital that was converted to a hostel sometimes back to have serve its intended purposes to the community.

“I am appealing to the Catholic church to consider reopening Gikondi mission hospital to save us from seeking services far away at Mukurwei-ini District Hospital,” she said.