Religion, it is said, is the process of entering into personal communication with God - a matter of deep faith so to speak; and we, Goans, true to our Patron Saint, St. Francis Xavier, have carried our faith to the far corners of the globe, and so, it was not unusual that Goans should take an active interest and involve themselves in all matters relating to the church. Of us, like the Poles, it could be said, Goans, semper fidelis(always true to the Church).
While Goan Catholics are among the best known of Kenya's Asian communities, what is less well known is that their association with Kenya predates the colonial era; and yet, very little has been documented of that early history in Kenya especially during the Portuguese presence. Commercial though the Portuguese exploitation of the Indian ocean and colonisation of Goa was, religious proselytizing served as a moral and convenient justification for imperial expansion, and the serious missionary work which began in Goa - firstly by the Dominicans(followed latterly by the Franciscans, Augustinians, Carmelites and Jesuits), resulted in our conversion to Roman Catholicism. Thus began the inter-twining of two major branches of the Indo-European cultures. Catholic Goans are therefore often referred to as "European Indians", and Goa itself, as "Rome of the East, It is a well known fact that Goans have made a significant contribution towards the establishment of Catholicism in Kenya. They have been amongst the founders, and latterly, pillars of the church - as in the case of the Holy Ghost Cathedral in Mombasa(where, incidentally, my own parents were married in 1926), the Holy Family Basilica, Consolata Church and St. Paul's chapel in Nairobi. Whenever newly-arrived European missionaries set foot on Kenya soil, it was the Goans they turned to for moral and other financial support. Many of the churches in the smaller towns of Kenya also owe their existence to the collective efforts of Goans. In 1933, the Goans built their own church in one of Nairobi's suburbs, Parklands, and named it appropriately after their Patron, St. Francis Xavier. Nor did the Goan contribution end there; they were co-founders of various Church organisations like the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, Catholic Action groups etc. Because of their ingrained love of music and aptitude for singing, the Goans were quick to start choirs, many of which graced the cathedrals and churches of Kenya. The Goans were equally generous when the question of Catholic education was raised, and donated freely towards the establishment of schools in Nairobi and elsewhere. All this, despite the discrimination practised in Catholic establishments, where many Catholic schools, siding with the Colonial government of the day, did not admit non-European Catholics to their schools. The same was true of mission-run hospitals. Sadly, it must be recorded, that while the missionaries made good use of the Goans - a matter of convenience almost, the treatment that some of these Catholic Goans received at the hands of some priests and nuns was, to say the least, deplorable. Racial discrimination was rife in schools and hospitals(mission hospitals at that!), where White non-Catholics were freely admitted while Goan catholics were left in the lurch. Many Goans who did not speak English, but who were devout and staunch Catholics, were openly discriminated against even in churches, where benches, especially at Christmastime, were reserved for Europeans(in many cases, such Europeans being 'once-a-year-churchgoers'). Mothers were often humiliated by the priest asking them to take their crying infants out of the Church,while no White mother was discriminated in this way. I realize that all this will make sad reading but feel that the story needs to be recorded if only to complete the whole picture of missionary activity in colonial Kenya. I may add that I have many friends among the missionaries in Kenya - both White, Brown and Black - Bishops, priests and ordinary folk. On various occasions I have discussed this issue with them and found that they were in agreement with many of the issues raised in this article. Mervyn Maciel