The Irish-born member of St. Patrick’s Society for the Foreign Missions (Kiltegan Fathers) is to serve as Apostolic Administrator of Mzuzu Diocese until Bishop Nyirenda is installed, Fr. Valeriano further says in the statement he shared with ACI Africa.
In the one-page statement, the MCCB Secretary General congratulates Bishop Nyirenda on his appointment as Local Ordinary of Mzuzu Diocese, saying, “We join the Diocese of Mzuzu and indeed the entire Catholic Church in Malawi in congratulating the Auxiliary Bishop for this appointment.”
“We have all the reasons to celebrate God's goodness and care for us,” Fr. Valeriano further says, and appeals for spiritual solidarity with Bishop Nyirenda that “he may be blessed with wisdom, strength and grace as he takes on this important role in the Diocese.”
In a separate statement shared with ACI Africa, the MCCB Secretary General has announced that Bishop Nyirenda “will be installed as the Ordinary of the Diocese and take canonical possession of the Diocese of Mzuzu on Saturday, 3rd May 2025.”
“The function will be presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency, Most Rev. Gianluca Peric at St. Peter's Cathedral in Mzuzu from 9:00am,” Fr. Valeriano says in the statement dated April 1.
Born on 20 June 1976 in Mzuzu Diocese, Bishop Nyirenda was ordained Priest in July 2008 after completing his philosophical and theological studies at Kachere Major Seminary and St. Peter’s Major Seminary, respectively.
He pursued further studies at the Kenya-based Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), where he graduated with a Diploma in Canon Law. At Lumen Christi Institute in Tanzania, he earned a Diploma in Religious Formation and Spirituality.
Once installed as the Local Ordinary of Mzuzu Diocese, Bishop Nyirenda, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2023 will become the fifth Bishop of the Malawian Diocese that measures 21,500 square Kilometers with a total population of 1.85 million of which 730,500 are Catholics, representing 39. 3 percent, according to 2023 statistics.
Erected on 8 May 1947 as Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Nyassa before it was elevated to a Diocese on 17 January 1961, Mzuzu Diocese is among the three Suffragan Dioceses of Malawi’s Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe.
Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
