Kenya

Missionaries of the Congregation of Holy Cross arrived in Kenya in 1968. That same year they established Holy Cross Parish in Dandora, which at the time was a newly developing low-income housing project on the outskirts of Nairobi. Originally planned for only 40,000 residents, Dandora quickly swelled into a teeming home of over a quarter million people, most of whom are poor.

Today, Holy Cross Parish remains the center of the ministerial work of the Congregation in Kenya and stands as an oasis of hope amidst the squalor and despair of the Dandora slum. The parish is unique in Nairobi with its strong emphasis on lay leadership and the presence of numerous small Christian communities.

The ministries of the parish include St. James Nursery and Primary School, the Brother André Hospital, the Holy Cross Vocational Training Center, and a food bank. 

As educators in the faith, Holy Cross also has been instrumental in Catholic higher education in Kenya. Servant of God Vincent McCauley was instrumental in raising funds for the establishment of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi in 1984. The Congregation was also a founding member of Tangaza University in Nairobi, which opened in 1986 to provide theological training for seminarians of religious congregations in East Africa.

Nairobi, Kenya, is also the home of McCauley Formation House which is the formation house for the Congregation’s many professed seminarians and brothers in East Africa. With a steady flow of vocations, the Congregation has been able to continue to grow and expand its mission.