Legio Maria faithful hold an annual pilgrimage to Homa Bay Prison

Legio Maria members visited Homa Bay Prison on Wednesday, July 1 to mark the arrest, detention, and release of their founder, Simeo Melkio Lodvicus Hosea Messiah.

Simeo Messiah was arrested in 1961 at God Kweru, Migori County, and detained at Homa Bay Prison for about one month.

He was released on July 1, 1961, a date now observed annually.

The pilgrimage is a ritual reenactment of his suffering and a spiritual act of remembrance.

What Happens During the Pilgrimage:

The faithful begin a long barefoot procession at dawn from St Peter’s Asego Parish. They walk through various parts of Homa Bay town, praying at designated stops. The final and most important prayer is held inside Homa Bay Prison.

The prison is considered a sacred site because it symbolizes the founder’s endurance, persecution, and divine mission.
Fr. John Stanley Okumu, Vicar General of St Mary’s Pap Ndege Legio Maria Church, said that the annual ritual commemorates the founder’s suffering under colonial authorities.

He added that the event reinforces the faithful’s spiritual connection to Simeo Messiah’s trials, and serves as a reminder of resilience, sacrifice, and divine calling.

While distinct from the prison pilgrimage, other Legio Maria pilgrimages in Homa Bay, particularly to Mawego, St Philip Rapar, also honor pivotal moments in the founder’s life, such as the 1967 accident that turned Mawego into a sacred site.

These parallel traditions show how Legio Maria spirituality is deeply tied to physical locations associated with the founder’s suffering, miracles, and divine encounters.