Sister Anna Ali lies on bloodied
bed. She used to cry tears of blood before she died. [PHOTO: COURTESY]
ELDORET
KENYA: A Kenyan nun who died two years ago may follow in the footsteps of
former Catholic Archbishop Maurice Cardinal Otunga on the road to sainthood if
the revelations about her life and activities are anything to go by, The
Standard has learnt. The late Sister Ann Ali, the first born in a family of
five — two brothers and three sisters — has shocked many Christians including
her mentor Eldoret Catholic Diocese Bishop Cornelius Korir who believes the
long process to sainthood could be the only thing standing in the way. Sister
Ali who was born of a Muslim father and a Christian mother hence the name Ali
has a heart wrenching story that has baffled many of those who knew her. Her
father Ali Abdul Rahimani, a Muslim died on October 20, 1991. She was a
committed Christian, lived a quiet life and close to only a few members of her
church in order to keep her life a secret, Bishop Korir told The Standard in
his office. TEARS OF BLOOD According to information gathered about the late
nun, Ali, who became a Christian in the Catholic Church in 1979, used to shed
tears of blood, something that shocked those who witnessed it. She started
falling ill while at Kepkelion Primary School in Kericho County, and Koru Girls
Secondary School which was run by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy. Her health
continued deteriorating, forcing her to look for healing crusades after all
else failed. A story she wrote about herself in one of her books, stated that
she attended several prayer crusades without success. “I had been sick for
about seven years. I used to bleed from my fingers and toes. My mother took me
to many different hospitals, but I was not cured. From there I heard that there
was a healing crusade in Nairobi which was being held by the Catholic Church,”
the book reads in part. It continues: “When it was announced that those who
needed to be healed move forward, I prayed first quietly and asked God to heal
me. In that process the words of God touched me. I fell down and I was carried
to a safe place unconscious, but when I came to myself, I realised that I was
not bleeding from my fingers and toes anymore as it used to be.” But even with
the bleeding having been miraculously cured, her troubles did not end there. In
1990, the devil struck again, and this time her right hand became weak and
almost paralysed. Things got so bad she almost missed an Italian language
course for sisters in her order between July-August 1991. Her hope was
stretched to the limit, but regular messages from God, she says, kept her
strong. She says God told her not to abandon her duties.
“I received messages from God nearly
every day telling me to go and ask people to come back and repent because Jesus
was crucified on the cross due to our sins, but we have forgotten Him, and even
do bad things than before,” she said in the book. Ali says the Lord told her at
the beginning of the apparitions on April 16, 1987, that she should be a
servant of love and not hide His glory. She was also instructed to pray for the
scandals of the world, glorify the Lord’s name daily and warned not to be
afraid of calling His name. She claimed that she was also instructed not to be
worried about the devil’s work, saying the Lord told her that the devil was on
the way with a view of tempting her faith and even trouble her. “I want your
life to be a prayer for the church and poor sinners for the many who are
suffering as I was suffering,” the book quotes. She said when she was speaking
to the Lord in trance, the message was recorded by a nun identified as Sister
Regina Mwamba as well as other people. The same incident also happened on April
24, 1988 where she revealed that the Lord wanted her to follow her painful path
for the good of souls. However, people who knew her did not believe her when
she narrated all three to them. “I was revealing what God had told me and they
didn’t believe but these are the real words from God, ‘Listen to me I am above
this earth, I have allowed you and you alone to photograph me for them to know
the truth’. I managed to photograph Him but what surprised me is that when I
took the full image, it came out a passport size picture of the image of Christ
because he did not want people to know how he looks like,” the book continued
to reveal. WONDERFUL MIRACLES “These people including close friends did not
even believe me with the camera I was using, and they bought for me another new
camera which also came out with the same image,” she adds. There was also
another miracle where a photographer in Uganda attempted to take a picture of
the sister while attending a seminar there but when he produced the film, the
picture of Mary the mother of Jesus appeared in the background holding the holy
sacrament. All these pictures are available at the Cathedral church in Eldoret.
Bishop Korir says Sister Ali had a few friends she would consult whenever she
was in pain.The process for her sainthood cannot be started until three years
elapse, in accordance with Catholic Church doctrine. However, Bishop Korir
promised that once the period expires, the diocese will commence the process by
setting up a commission as was the case with the late Cardinal Otunga. “The
lady had shown us several wonderful miracles, which I as a bishop have never
seen in my life. Even the cameras she used to photograph the alleged Lord were
later blown up after she finished taking the pictures. We did not believe and
bought a new one. Surprisingly it was also damaged, according to the technician
who attended both of them,” Bishop Korir told The Standard in his Eldoret
office.
“We always talked about her
following some of the miraculous things she used to say an do. She had a unique
character and always gave us hope of life even when she was in pain,” said her
mother Priscah Nyambura, adding that she was a role model to her siblings. Some
Catholics who knew her and whom we interviewed said Sister Ali was committed to
the church, and the miracles that took place through her baffled many faithful
in Eldoret. Last weekend, Bishop Korir held a memorial service in Burnt Forest
at Sister Ali’s convent in Uasin Gishu County to commemorate her life.
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