The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family is a

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

dedicated to the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

located in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. The Basilica is the seat of the Archdiocese of Nairobi. The original church, which had a sitting capacity of 300–400, built in 1904, was Nairobi's first stone building. The current church was built between 1960 and 1963, and was officially blessed and opened in 6 July 1963. The church was designated a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in 1982.

History

The congregation of the cathedral was originally composed of railway construction workers who lived in a camp nearby what would become the first Nairobi Railway Station. Under the administration of the Holy Ghost Fathers, Brother Josaphat, C.S.S.P (Holy Ghost Missionary) was entrusted with the building of a church in 1904. With a sitting capacity of 300–400 people, it was the first stone building in Nairobi.Welcome to Holy Family Basilica
, Holy Family Basilica, Retrieved 28 October 2015Kenya: centenary celebrations at Nairobi's Basilica
2004, Independent Catholic News, Retrieved 28 October 2015 The first baptism took place in 1906, the first marriage in 1908, and first confirmation in 1923. The first Archbishop of Nairobi was John Joseph McCarthy who was appointed in 1953 and he would serve until 1971 when he retired.Archbishop John Joseph McCarthy, C.S.Sp.
Catholic hierarchy, retrieved 28 October 2015 Dorothy Hughes, who was brought up in Kenya, designed the current building in 1960. The cathedral was constructed by the British company Mowlem. The

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

cathedral features abstract stained glass in stainless steel frames. The cathedral's specification included details in carrara marble and seating for 3,000 to 4,000 people. This is ten times the number of the original stone church. The building is 98 feet high and features a large cross. Hughes' design features eight different chapels in addition to the two main halls. There is a main altar with a large crucifix and a large sanctuary, as well as two side altars. The church was visited by

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1980 and designated a basilica on 15 February 1982.Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family
GCatholic.org, Retrieved 27 October 2015 John Paul prayed again at this church in 1985 and 1995. The Holy Ghost Fathers were responsible for the basilica until 1991. A new administrative building for the archbishop's office was being built by the Chinese construction company Zhongxing Construction in 2011.

Services

The cathedral is the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Nairobi. The current archbishop is Philip Anyolo who was made a archbishop of Nairobi in 2021.John Njue
GCatholic.org, Retrieved 28 October 2015 The Archdiocese of Nairobi contains an estimated population of 4 million people of which 1.6 million are thought to be Catholic. These 4,000 Christian communities are served by 182 clergy, eight university level education facilities and several places for retreat.The Archdiocese of Nairobi
, Retrieved 29 October 2015 Services are available throughout the week within the cathedral and one of the chapels is always open. In addition the building also houses a bookshop and a school.Nairobi's cathedral draws worshippers to noon weekday mass
Christina S.N.Lewis, September 2011, National Catholic Reporter, Retrieved 28 October 2015

Gallery

File:Holy Family basilica (Nairobi, Kenya) - chapel.jpg, Chapel File:Nairobi City centre including Basilica.jpg, Nairobi city centre including Basilica File:Holy Family basilica (Nairobi, Kenya) - interior (2).jpg, Interior File:Holy Family basilica (Nairobi, Kenya) - holy water font.jpg, Holy water and baptismal fonts File:A view of Nairobi from the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.jpg, Nairobi from the Kenyatta International Conference Centre

Notes

External links

Sunday Services and mass times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Family Basilica churches in Africa Roman Catholic cathedrals in Kenya Religious buildings and structures in Nairobi