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Auxiliary Bishop in Nairobi Appointed Kenya's Military Ordinary, Country's Embu Diocese Gets Bishop

Bishop Wallace Ng’ang’a Gachihi (left) and Mons. Peter Kimani Ndung’u (right)

Bishop  Wallace Ng’ang’a Gachihi, one of the three Auxiliary Bishops of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) in Kenya, has been appointed the Local Ordinary of the country’s Military Ordinariate

In the latest Papal appointments that the Holy See press office made public on Thursday, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father also appointed Mons. Peter Kimani Ndung’u of ADN as Local Ordinary of Kenya's Catholic Diocese of Embu.

The Kenyan Military See has been under successive Apostolic Administrators since Bishop Alfred Kipkoech Arap Rotich retired in December 2016.

The Military Ordinariate, as established in the April 1986 Apostolic Constitution on spiritual assistance to the Military, Spirituali Militum Curae, is dedicated to addressing the pastoral needs of the personnel of the armed forces and their respective families. 

A residential Bishop known as “Military Ordinary” leads the Ordinariate that is staffed by military Chaplains. Unlike traditional Dioceses, the Military Ordinariate is not confined to a specific geographical area; instead, it serves wherever the nation's military personnel are located.

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Since Bishop Rotich’s retirement as Military Ordinary, two Apostolic Administrators have been at the helm of Kenya’s Military Ordinariate: Mons. Benjamin Maswili, who was appointed in December 2016; and Mons. John Njue Njeru, appointed on January 30

Bishop Wallace’s appointment as Military Ordinary comes days after he presided over ACI Africa’s fifth Anniversary, which was celebrated in anticipation of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven.

In his homily during the August 9 celebration, the Kenyan Catholic Bishop emphasized the virtue of humility in the process of communicating as exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

“We will be effective communicators, good disseminators of the Good News, when we are humble, living our faith with wholehearted submission to God. When we do this, we will be able to share the right information with others, just as Mother Mary obeyed, even when she was not entirely sure of what she was saying ‘yes’ to,” he said during the ACI Africa anniversary Mass at JJ McCarthy Centre of the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi (ASN).

Bishop Wallace, who was Consecrated Bishop on April 6 alongside Bishop Simon Peter Kamomoe went on to recount how Mary, upon receiving the Good News, “did not keep it to herself but quickly shared it with others, bringing joy and hope to those she encountered.”

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“We are all called to be carriers of the Good News, just as Mother Mary was. This is not a task for media people alone; it is a mission for all of us by virtue of our baptism. After receiving the Good News, go out and share it with others,” he said.

A native of ADN, where he was born in March 1973, Bishop Wallace had his Priestly formation and studies at St. Augustine's Senior Seminary Mabanga in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Bungoma and St. Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary Tindinyo in the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, Kenya, respectively, all under the auspices of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB). He was ordained a Priest for ADN in May 2005.

The Catholic Church leader, who serves as Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications of KCCB obtained a master’s degree in Pastoral Theology from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).

As a Priest, he served as the Assistant Parish Priest of Regina Coeli Parish Karen, and Parish Priest of Christ the King Church Embakasi, among other Priestly duties.

Until his February 13 Episcopal appointment, the Kenyan Catholic Bishop served as the Pastoral Coordinator of the ADN and Parish Priest of Queen of Apostles Ruaraka Parish of ADN.

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Meanwhile, in the August 15 Papal appointments, Pope Francis also appointed Mons. Ndung’u as the Local Ordinary of Embu Diocese.

Embu Diocese became vacant following the transfer of Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru to the Catholic Diocese of Wote after it had been carved out of the Catholic Diocese of Machakos. Bishop Kariuki had been at the helm of Embu Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in July 2009.

Earlier, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri had been overseeing the Kenyan Episcopal See as Apostolic Administrator.

Born in November 1966, Mons. Ndung’u started his Priestly formation at St. Mary's Propaedeutic Seminary, Molo, in Kenya’s Diocese of Nakuru.

He had his philosophical and theological studies at the Apostles of Jesus Major Seminary and the St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi respectively.

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Mons. Ndung’u was ordained a Priest in July 1995 for ADN.  Since then, he has served as assistant Parish Priest, Parish Priest, and representative for Africa of the International Catholic Prison Pastoral Care (ICCPPC), among other Priestly duties.

Until his August 15 Episcopal appointment, the Kenyan-born Catholic Priest has, since 2001, been serving as the National Chaplain of the Kenya Prison Service.

He holds a Diploma in psychological support for the rehabilitation of prisoners with subsequent update at the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI).

Once consecrated and installed, the Bishop-elect will be the fourth Local Ordinary of the Diocese which measures 2,714 square kilometers with a population of 366,500 Catholics, representing 60.0 percent of the total population of the territory of the Diocese, according to 2021 statistics.

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.