Catholic Bishop of Machakos Diocese in Kenya Appointed Apostolic Administrator of Country’s Wote Diocese

Born in 1952 in Makueni County, Bishop King’oo was ordained Priest for the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar in 1988. He was appointed the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bungoma in June 1998 and ordained in August 1988. He was transferred to Machakos Diocese in June 2018.

Meanwhile, Bishop Kariuki, who started his Episcopal Ministry in July 2009 as the Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Catholic Diocese of Embu was appointed pioneer Bishop of Wote Diocese in July 2023 and installed on 30 September 2023.

In July, the 61-year-old Catholic Church leader delegated “pastoral and administrative responsibilities” of Wote Diocese to Fr. Patrick W. Ndonga, who he said “will be the point of contact for any urgent matters that may arise”.

In the letter he addressed to “All Clergy, Religious Men & Women and Laity of the Catholic Diocese of Wote”, Bishop Kariuki announced that he was beginning his “annual leave effective immediately, July 3rd, 2024.”

“I expect to return on a date to be determined in August (2024),” he further stated, adding, “Please share this information with any clergy members who may not have received this message. I kindly ask for your understanding and cooperation during this time.”

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“Please continue to keep me in your prayers for a restful and refreshing leave,” the Kenyan Catholic Bishop, who was elected the Chairman of the Commission for Education and Religious Education (CERE) of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) said in his one-page letter dated July 3.

The Diocese of Wote was carved out from Machakos Diocese; its Cathedral was established at St. Joseph the Worker Wote Parish.

Covering the territory of Kenya’s Makueni County, the Kenyan Diocese borders various Kenyan Counties, including Machakos to the North, Kitui to the East, Taita Taveta to the South, and Kajiado to the West.

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