Francis Mutua Simon is 37 years old and is from Kitui, Kenya. He entered the seminary in 2006 and completed it in 2014, being ordained as a deacon in 2015 and a year later, as a priest.

I come from a family of six. I am the oldest child in a Catholic family consisting of five boys and one girl. My parents are alive and Catholic. All my family members are committed Catholics and when I felt the call to the priesthood, they really supported me despite the opposition from the community.

The community was opposed to my becoming a priest, and that because I am the first and only priest in my town: it sounded strange to them because they had never thought or heard of such a thing before. In spite of everything, in the end the community was grateful for the gift of my priesthood.

Later, after my ordination, I was sent to help in the parish. Since then I have served in two parishes and in my diocese in general. It was not easy because of the many problems I personally faced. First of all, the long distances to reach the Christians in the various villages, which means traveling by motorcycle for 100 km or so with all the risks due to the lack of good roads and infrastructure: for example, during the rainy season the tracks are completely impracticable. I also had to face the problem of the lack of financial means not only to communicate with the Christians physically and technologically, but also to support them materially in the education of the children, which is essential especially for the orphans, who are the poorest and most needy.

However, in my diocese the situation is not easy for Christians in general, since most of them are very poor and continue to depend on the support of the Church, even the priests who are also poor and often do not manage to help some families who do not manage to gather enough food to survive for one day. There is also a serious problem of education: the misery we have is not only material, but spiritual, human and cultural, because very few people get to be formed and have an education: for example, we have very few Catholic schools, due to lack of money to set up structures in the parishes. And finally there are problems of faith: most people do not pay much attention to the spiritual needs of their soul, such as attending the Eucharistic celebrations, but they are more concerned about finding water for their daily life or pastures for their livestock: it is very difficult to talk to them and convince them of the need and importance of the Mass and the faith.

It was during my apostolate in the parish that my bishop asked me to go and study for a degree in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross here in Rome. This was due to the various needs in the diocese. The bishop's goal is for me to continue with the apostolate in the diocese after acquiring, through my studies, knowledge in the field of canon law. This will be of great help to the diocese as there are many pastoral problems that need immediate attention and care. God uses different means and ways to reach out to his people, education is one of them.

I believe that after my studies I will be able to reach out to the Christian faithful of my diocese in a special way. This is not easy when you consider the financial aspect, as I mentioned earlier. Imagine, then, how important your financial support is to see this dream come true and to continue contributing to the mission of the church, which is the salvation of souls."

"I thank you for your support that extends to my formation, to my diocese and to my country. With gratitude I encourage you to continue to support me in this, so that I can fulfill my dream.

I know the sacrifice you make with me and the Church in your mission. My prayers will always be for you."