In a unique Christmas celebration, members of the Legion Maria church in western Kenya gathered to mark the birth of whom they describe as the “Black Messiah.”
Worshippers dressed in white prayed before a portrait of co-founder Mama Maria in a candlelit service. The movement reveres Baba Simeo Melchior—founder Simeo Ondetto—as the returned Son of God incarnated as a black man.
“Today is a great day, because the Virgin Mary gave birth to King Jesus in the world of black people,” said Stephen Benson Nundu, a prophet within the church, speaking to AFP.
Founded in 1966, Legion Maria traces its origins to visions received by Roman Catholics in the 1930s about “the incarnation of the son of God as a black man.” The church now claims millions of followers across nine African countries.
Deputy head Timothy Lucas Abawao emphasized that the movement is not a cult but a Christian church that believes Baba Messiah “came for Africans.”
“He took on the colour of the Black man, so that the Black man could understand him in his own language and receive salvation,” Abawao stated.
Legion Maria joins other African-founded movements, like South Africa’s Nazareth Baptist Church and Nigeria’s Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, in presenting a supreme divine figure that reflects the identity of its adherents.
Disclaimer:
This article reports on the beliefs and practices of a religious movement as covered by international media. CDA News Nigeria presents this for informational purposes without endorsement.
© 2025 CDA News Nigeria. All rights reserved.
