Ksh 124M raised for Pope visit

More than 124 million shillings has been raised towards the Papal visit.

In exactly 18 days pope francis will land in the country for a three day visit that has seen the catholic faithful in the country wait in anticipation for the opportunity to congregate with the Head of the Catholic Church.

As preparations hit top gear in the venues that the Pope will visit, the Catholic community on Friday evening congregated at the KICC for a fundraising event for the same.

In the fundraising dinner, 124 million was raised.

25 million shillings was from catholic dioceses in the country.

President Uhuru Kenyatta sent his 10 million contribution, Former President Mwai Kibaki offered 2.1 million shillings.

Equity bank and Co-operative bank contributed Ksh 10 million each while, Kenya Commercial Bank, Sameer Africa, Britam holdings and Brookside Company contributed Ksh 5 million each.

The Diamond trust bank gave one million shillings.

John Cardinal Njue announced that part of the money will be used to establish a programme in memory of the papal visit.

“We are going to establish a service delivery programme named after the Pope,” said Njue.

The Pope’s representative in the country urged Kenyans to prepare for the message of the 266^th pontiff.

Pope Francis arrives in the country on November 25^th and is scheduled to hold a meeting with the government, religious groups and members of vulnerable communities.

In October, the Kenyan Conference of Catholic Bishops said hosting Pope Francis, during his three-day visit will require Ksh.200 million shillings.

More than one million pilgrims are expected in Nairobi from November 25^th 2015.

Organizers of the trip say plans are underway to distribute the faithful in several venues where they will follow the proceedings of a special mass on giant screens.

Pope Francis, in his maiden visit to the African continent after ascending to the papacy, chose to visit Kenya, and this is a well-deserved honor for a country that has had its fair share of social and political challenges.