NAIROBI, Kenya — Before Sabastian Sawe traveled to London for the Sunday, April 26, marathon in which he would emerge the winner, the young athlete attended Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church, an outstation of St. Josephine Bakhita Lower Moiben Parish in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.
Speaking to ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, after Sawe’s record London Marathon win, Julius Kemei, chairperson of Holy Family Catholic Church, remembered the athlete asking for prayers at the end of Mass.
In the interview with ACI Africa on April 29, Kemei spoke about the marathon winnerʼs strong Catholic roots, his active participation in Church activities, and his generosity to Church projects.
“Sabastian never misses any church service. The last time he was here, he told us that he was traveling the same day to London for a competition and asked us to pray for him,” Kemei said, emphasizing: “He never misses Mass. He comes with his entire family to church. Whenever he is not around, his wife and children come.”
In London, the 31-year-old Kenyan crossed the line to win in a record time of 1:59:30 — more than one minute faster than the previous 2:00:35 record set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.
Kemei, who taught Sawe at Cheukta Primary School, where the youngster’s star began to shine through interschool and zonal competitions, said that with the sustained success in athletics, the Catholic Church in Moiben has a role model, a mentor, and a big supporter of the Church’s development projects.
“He may be young, but he has already entered the ranks of an elder of our church,” Kemei said, adding that Sawe has always been ready to donate toward Church projects.
“There is a marathon he won before this London one… and he came and gave the church Ksh 100,000 [100,000 Kenyan shillings, about $775]. There are times he offers to complete projects by himself, saying that God has already blessed him so much,” Kemei said.
The church official recounted the young athleteʼs strong Catholic upbringing, with his entire family being the pillar of the newly established parish.
“Four families are pillars of our new parish — Sabastian’s is one of them,” Kemei said. “When Bishop Dominic Kimengich made us a parish before he was appointed archbishop of Mombasa, we were worried about resources. But each member of Sabastian’s family donated something to our church.”
Saweʼs most recent donation to Holy Family Catholic Church was a large flock of sheep, which is helping to fund the construction of a new church to accommodate the parish’s growing numbers.
Sabastian’s grandmother also donated a cow toward the church before she died in 2022 while her grandchild found his way in the world of athletics in Spain.
Kemei agreed with media reports that Sawe has promised to complete the construction of his church back home after winning big in London.
“After he is done with the national reception in Nairobi, I know he will want to head straight to his home, and the church is one of the first places he will want to be. And he will want to know how he can support the completion its construction.”
While at Cheukta Primary School, Kemei said Sawe never struck him as an extraordinary child until upper primary school when he started participating in cross-country competitions and zonal competitions, where he performed really well.
“I remember him as a very shy student. I saw his talent and nurtured it,“ Kemei said. ”But it was after he transitioned to high school that his star started to shine brighter.”
He said that Sawe comes from a family of athletes. “His paternal grandfather was a marathoner. His uncle also participated in athletics up to Uganda. And his mother was also a sprinter for those who saw her at Kasarani stadium,” he said.
Sawe shows young people that everything is possible with commitment and a firm trust in God, Kemei explained. “Many youths in our parish have started going to him for mentorship. He is a great resource to our church.”
This story was first published by ACI Africa, the sister service of EWTN News in Africa, and has been adapted by EWTN News.