Vicar General of Kenya’s Kitui Diocese Appointed Bishop, Says He’ll Foster Unity, Service

A clergy of Kitui Diocese, Fr. Mwongela, 52, was ordained a priest on September 7, 1996.

Since his ordination, he has served in various roles in the diocese including parish ministry as Parish Priest, Diocesan Chancellor, Vocations Director, and since 2015, as Vicar General.

The Bishop-elect has studied Dogmatic Theology and holds a licentiate from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), both in Rome.

During the Tuesday evening interview with ACI Africa, the Bishop-elect expressed gratitude to Pope Francis for his confidence and trust in him despite his unworthiness.

“It is an honor that the Holy Father has entrusted me with this responsibility; it is a call to service and I am not really worth it, sincerely,” the cleric of Kitui diocese said.

He went on to acknowledge the impact of his predecessor, Archbishop Anthony Muheria in the diocese entrusted to his care saying, “I really feel unworthy to fit into his shoes but as they say, each one puts on their own shoes; I will just put on my shoes and seek to do my very best and leave the rest to God.”

“Just like in the Lord’s Prayer, Our Father, where we seek His will to be done, I wish to do the will of God,” he added.

Entrusting himself to the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Kenyan cleric asked for prayers from Christians and promised, “I will give my best and I am ready to learn what can be learnt.”

The diocese of Kitui has been under the care of Archbishop Muheria as its Apostolic Administrator.

In his congratulatory message to the Bishop-elect shared with ACI Africa, Archbishop Muheria said, “We want to congratulate Fr. Joseph Mwongela with all our hearts, encourage and tell him the Lord will work with him, the Lord will give him the grace he needs, and all of us are certainly sure that he will live up to the expectations of the Lord.”

The Archbishop termed March 17 a “great day” that the appointment of Fr. Mwongela coincided with the Feast of St. Patrick (St.Patrick’s Day), when the Church celebrates the founder of St. Patrick Missionary Society (SPS), whose members served the diocese upon its erection.

He urged Christians in Kitui diocese to support the Bishop-elect saying, “People of Kitui (diocese), let us rise up and support our new Bishop with love and prayer.”

“May the Lord walk with our new Shepherd, may the Lord support our new Shepherd, may we love our new Shepherd and as we love him, may we also thank the Holy Father, Pope Francis for this wonderful gift for his people. Thank you very much Pope Francis,” the Archbishop of Nyeri added.

A native of Kitui diocese working at the Nairobi-based Strathmore University has described the Bishop-elect as “a very deeply spiritual person in his own ways.”

“This is a person who had qualified to go to the university but he chose to go to the seminary,” Anthony Mbandi, a faithful from Kitui diocese told ACI Africa in an interview Tuesday, March 17.

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Having known the Bishop-elect since 2008 while working together in Kitui diocese, Mr. Mbandi said he knows him as “a man who listens” with patient understanding.

“He is a quite engaging and very welcoming person,” Mr. Mbandi said of the Bishop-elect and added, “In fact most people will tell you that if you go to the parish and you meet with him, even after Mass, he will invite you for a cup of tea. He is a warm, kind man.”

“We will pray for him, we will work with him and hold his hand as a son of the diocese,” Mr. Mbandi added.

Located in the eastern part of Kenya, the Catholic Diocese of Kitui was erected in February 1956 by Pope Pius XII as an Apostolic Prefecture and elevated to the rank of a diocese in November 1963 by Pope St. Paul VI.

The diocese measures 30,346 square kilometres and has an estimated 22.9 percent Catholic population according to 2017 statistics.

Under the patronage of Our Lady of Africa, the diocese has 19 parishes, 82 diocesan priests. The people of God in the diocese are served by 12 Religious Orders of men and women.