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Succession in Kenyan Catholic Diocese: Bishop of Isiolo Retires, Coadjutor Appointed Local Ordinary

Bishop Anthony Ireri Mukobo welcomes Bishop Peter Munguti Makau to the Catholic Diocese of Isiolo

Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Bishop Anthony Ireri Mukobo, who has been at the helm of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Isiolo since January 2006.

On September 23, Bishop Ireri reached the 75-year-old mandatory retirement age for Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Peter Munguti Makau, who was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Kenyan Episcopal See on May 4 is to succeed Bishop Ireri, according to the Saturday, September 28 Holy See Press Office note.

A Kenyan-born member of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC), Bishop Ireri was ordained a Priest in January 1980.

He started his Episcopal Ministry in March 2000 as Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi.

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In January 2006, he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Isiolo Vicariate and was appointed pioneer Bishop of the Kenyan Episcopal See when Pope Francis elevated it to a Diocese in February 2023.

Bishop Makau, Bishop Ireri’s compatriot, confrere, and successor, was born in May 1975 in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. He began his Religious formation as a Consolata Missionary at the Consolata Seminary in Nairobi for Postulancy and philosophy.

He made his first profession on 6 August 1999 after Novitiate at Sagana in Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Murang’a and proceeded to the Institut Saint-Eugène de Mazenod in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for Theology.

Bishop Makau made his perpetual profession on 5 December 2003; he was ordained a Consolata Priest in November 2004 in the Catholic Diocese of Machakos in Kenya.

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Speaking at his Episcopal Ordination on July 27, Bishop Makau described his Consecration as a “significant moment in my life and in the life of the beloved Church of Isiolo.”

“I am deeply honored and profoundly humbled to have been entrusted with this Episcopal Ministry,” he said, and extended his “deepest gratitude” to Pope Francis “for appointing me to serve as the Coadjutor Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Isiolo.”

He went on to pledge his “unwavering loyalty and service” to the Holy Father and to “the church as I promised in yesterday's evening prayer.”

Bishop Makau said he was “eager” to collaborate with the Clergy, women and men Religious, and the Laity of Isiolo Diocese.

“I am eager to collaborate with you, to listen to you, to work with you, and support you in our shared mission of evangelization and pastoral care of the people of God entrusted to us,” he said.

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The Diocese of Isiolo, which measures 25,336 square kilometers was erected in December 1995 as the Vicariate Apostolic of Isiolo. It is part of Nyeri Metropolitan See, and has a population of 69,070 Catholics representing 38.9 percent of the total population in the Diocese, according to 2023 statistics.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.