As the drumbeats grew louder at the Jerusalem Church, members of the Legio Maria movement bowed in unison before they began speaking in tongues, praying and singing. Their “cardinal,” Raphael Midigo, dressed in a purple gown, appeared from behind a curtain near the pulpit and began to pray for the sick, the blind, deaf, disabled, the mentally ill and couples who could not bear children. Worshippers responded in shouts as others fainted, overcome with emotion.
“I can now hear. I can speak. I thank God,” shouted 30-year-old Jacinta Atieno, who claimed to be deaf in both ears for 10 years. “I came all the way from Nairobi to receive a miracle,” she said. “I have suffered for a long time. I thank the man of God for healing me.”
Such supposed miracles in the Legio Maria sect have raised concerns among Catholic parish leaders in western Kenya. Thousands of Catholics have joined the sect in search of healing. “This is worrying because leaders from this church (Legio Maria) have their own selfish agendas, which they achieve by making people believe that they have power to heal and provide solutions,” said Geofrey Omondi, a catechist of the Nyatike Catholic church in Migori, a nearby town.
