East Africa and peace in the region were concerns very close to Pope Francis’s heart, Kenya’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Ms Betty Cherwon, said on Monday while mourning the demise of the Holy Father.
Ms Cherwon, who is based in Paris and, besides the Holy See, also has accreditation to France, Portugal, Serbia and Monaco, presented her credentials to the Pope at the Vatican on December 7 last year alongside diplomats from 10 other nations.
“I have received with deep sadness the news of the passing of Pope Francis. The Pope had a loving spirit for all Catholics and non-Catholics,” she said.
“Pope Francis will be remembered across the globe for his love and advocation for peace, his simplicity and humility,” she added, noting that the Pope had expressed his special interest in peace in the East African region.
“In my conversation with the Holy Father he reiterated that East Africa was close to his heart and he continuously prayed for peace in the region... May God receive his soul and grant him eternal grace.”
Kenya’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Ms Betty Cherwon, poses for a photo with Pope Francis after presenting her credentials to the Holy Father at the Vatican on December 7, 2024.
Photo credit: L'Osservatore Romano-Vatican
Pope Francis visited Kenya at the invitation of President Uhuru Kenyatta in November 2015, with the then Head of State hosting the pontiff at State House, Nairobi, on November 25.
“During presentation of credentials, I had the honour to engage briefly with the Holy Father. He told me that he remembers Kenya and I requested him to pray for peace in our region,” Ambassador Cherwon told the Sunday Nation in an earlier interview after presenting her credentials.
During the presentation ceremony, envoys from Kenya, India, Jordan, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sao Tome and Principle, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Algeria, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe had special audience with the Pope at the Vatican where he emphasised the need to tackle the major problems affecting the world, particularly climate change and armed conflict that has increased the number of refugees worldwide.
“As you are aware, you are embarking on your responsibilities at a critical time for international diplomacy,” the Roman pontiff told the new diplomats.
“Our world is increasingly beset by problems that affect the entire human family and call for concerted action by all who are concerned for the future of our planet.
“I think of the continued devastating effects of climate change, which especially impact developing nations and the poorest members of society, the armed conflicts that cause untold suffering to so many of our brothers and sisters, and the plight of countless migrants and refugees fleeing their homelands in search of a better future for their families.
“Such issues have no simple solution, nor are they able to be resolved by the actions of one nation or a small group of states.
“Every country must have a voice in addressing these problems of international concern and formulating comprehensive and long-term solution. In this regard, the patient work of diplomacy is of the utmost importance.”
The Holy See, headquartered at the Vatican, is the world’s smallest sovereign State measuring 0.44 square kilometres, or an area of 44 hectares in the heart of Rome, with a population of just below 800.
The Vatican City State sits in its own geo-political space above other States and the Pope is the Head of State of the Vatican and also a spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics across the world.
“The Pope is elected to Head the Vatican for life. He is an intercessor between God and believers,” Ambassador Cherwon reflected on her visit to the Vatican.
“You couldn't find a more powerful person, yet calm and demure. Relations with the Vatican are, therefore, special as engagement is on a political level with a world view, not bilateral.”
Besides meeting the Pope and presenting her credentials, Ambassador Cherwon also held talks with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Holy See.
The Vatican’s specific mission is to promote dialogue in the service of common good without advancing political, commercial or military goals.
In his meeting with the diplomats, the Pope stressed the need for the international community to seek lasting peace globally.
“Amid difficulties, setbacks, the clash of arms and conflicting claims to be on the side of right, the international community cannot renounce its duty to seek peace by fostering dialogue, reconciliation, mutual understanding, respect for the dignity and rights of each individual and people, and for the demands of international law,” he said.
Ms Cherwon’s talks at the Vatican, naturally, centred on regional peace.
“I held discussions with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin that, needless to say, centred on regional peace, climate change and security, which reflect His Excellency President William Ruto’s international priorities,” Ms Cherwon told the Sunday Nation .
“My take-away from the experience at the Vatican and encounter with the Holy Father and the Secretary of State are that the voice of the church is a strong voice that is listened to worldwide,” she added. “The nature of the Holy See's international engagement on issues of conflict resolution, refugees and climate change are pertinent common shared goals and that is how we should seek to engage with the Vatican.”
Ms Cherwon, a former Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, is a seasoned diplomat who has been to various global seats of power on diplomatic assignments over her 28 years of service, including the Buckingham Palace where she had an engagement with the late Queen Elizabeth.
But to her, the Vatican stands out.
“The Vatican is impressive. A tiny State of less than half a kilometre squared sitting inside a city (Rome) and wielding so much power and awe...,” she reflects.
“I was driven right into the seat of the Vatican through the labyrinth of narrow walls that date back to the year 1300.
“It was evident from the old stone walls and narrow cobblestone streets that the Vatican is as historic as it gets. Some streets went beneath buildings and in the darkness and quiet of the imposing buildings, there was a gentle feeling of being on Holy ground,” the envoy narrated.
“The buildings are, in actual fact, museums and at the inner part of the Vatican that I went to are the residences and offices of the Cardinals, Monsignors and, of course, the Holy Father.
“Rooms are decorated with hand-painted murals that date back centuries and the marbled floors and pillars in some halls are magnificent. Very few people walk around these corridors. Lights are only lit when you approach a room.
“The dark quiet halls and silent conversations are a reminder that this is, indeed, a special place. You feel very close to God here.”
Ambassador Cherwon presented her letters of credence to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, on September 17 last year at the Elysee Palace, granting her official accreditation to France.
Ambassador Cherwon’s visit to the Vatican came just a few days after Pope Francis launched the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year 2025 on Christmas Eve by symbolically opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, noting that the Jubilee Year’s principal message is that of hope and forgiveness.
“This Christmas, at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every individual, and all peoples and nations, to find the courage needed to walk through that door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions,” the Pope later posted on his “X” handle, @Pontifex.
“The door is open; it is wide open! Come! Let us be reconciled with God, and then we will be reconciled with one another, even our enemies.”
The Holy Door is a significant sign of the Jubilee and its opening by the Pope signals the start of the Jubilee Year, which is commemorated once every 25 years, with pilgrims aiming to pass through the open door.
An estimated 32 million pilgrims are expected to pass through the Holy Door as a way of cleansing themselves from sin before its closure on January 6, 2026.
“In Rome, this experience takes on a special significance because of the special links between the Eternal City and Saints Peter and Paul, the apostles who founded the Christian community in Rome and whose teachings and example are models for the universal Church,” the Vatican explains in its Jubilee Year brief.
“The tombs of Saints Peter and Paul are located in Rome, they were martyred here; and together with the catacombs, these sacred sites are places of continuous spiritual inspiration.”
