KCCB’s St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN), and St. Matthias Mulumba Tindinyo Major Seminary in the Diocese of Eldoret are the two national KCCB Seminaries for Theology.
In 2022, Archbishop Maurice Makumba Muhatia of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu expressed concern about the increasing number of Major Seminarians in the country, which he said had resulted in “a minor crisis” of lack of rooms at national Diocesan Major Seminaries.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Archbishop Makumba who was then Chairman of the KCCB’s Seminary Episcopal Commission (SEC) said that some candidates had to wait for a year to begin their formation to the Priesthood.
Credit: Upendo Fm
The leadership of the St. Mary’s Propaedeutic Molo Seminary had to decline some admissions due to lack of space, Archbishop Muhatia told ACI Africa during the 3 June 2022 interview.
(Story continues below)
He added, “We have around 10 (candidates) on the waiting list; they have to wait for next year. The capacity of Molo (Seminary) is 75 and we have about 90 admitted.”
“This year, we have a minor crisis, because we do not have enough rooms for the (Major Seminary) admissions; we have a good crisis,” Archbishop Muhatia said.
More recently, at a press conference at KCCB headquarters in Nairobi ahead of the Ad Limina visit of Catholic Bishops in Kenya to Rome, Archbishop Muhatia said that top on the list of what they planned to share with the Holy Father is “an explosion in vocations,” with more and more young people expressing their interest to become Priests and Religious.
Credit: Upendo Fm
“At the moment, all Major Seminaries in Kenya are full to the brim. The Seminaries are so full that we cannot take candidates who are qualified,” he said during the August 14 press conference ahead of their 10-day Ad Limina visit that concluded on September 1, adding that full Major Seminaries are “a good sign of the growth of a faith in Kenya.”
The Chairman of KCCB continued, “There is an explosion of priestly vocations that the Conference of Bishops is having to think about how to cater for this great gift of faith coming from a community of people who want to dedicate themselves to the service of God.”
The naming of the newly inaugurated Propaedeutic Seminary of Kenya’s Eldoret Catholic Diocese after St. Charles Borromeo is indicative of a desire, from the onset, to foster a leadership that proposes Christian faith with clarity and demonstrates it in action among those admitted at the spirituality institution.
Remembered on November 4, St. Charles Borromeo, a central figure in the Council of Trent, is a model of leadership in challenging times.
The circumstances of his birth in 1538 could have easily allowed him to be part of the corrupt Renaissance-era Clergy. While he was born into luxury, the young Charles early on signaled his intention to go against the cultural grain, announcing his desire to serve the Church with sincerity. He asked his noble parents, who had a guaranteed income comparable to modern “trust funds”, to give away most of the fund's money to the poor.
St. Charles Borromeo’s altruistic attitude towards wealth and prestige due to his social class, his handling of the staggering responsibilities of having to serve as a Papal diplomat and supervisor of major Religious Orders at the age of 22, his participation and role in the Church's nineteenth Ecumenical Council at the age of 25, his reformation and transformation of Italy’s Catholic Diocese of Milan that he had found in a state of disintegration, his remarkable diligence and ascetic living, among other admirable leadership qualities should combine to inspire Seminarians, who will go through the newly inaugurated Kenyan Propaedeutic Seminary.
Credit: Upendo Fm
In his homily during the official inauguration of St. Charles Borromeo Major Seminary, Bishop Kimengich described a Seminary as “a place where young men who have been called by God and have responded to that call come so that they can be formed.”
“From now on, this place will be a true school of love,” the Local Ordinary of Eldoret Diocese said, and emphasized the need for the people of God in the Kenyan Diocese to get involved in ensuring that the Seminary flourishes as a “tree of vocation” that bears “fruits of vocation”.
“We are very few. But with your help, I know that this Seminary will truly become great; if it is God's will, then it is going to grow; and it is going to be a place of new blessings,” the Kenyan Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in May 2010 as Auxiliary Bishop of Lodwar Diocese said during the November 10 inauguration event.
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.
Bishop Dominic Kimengich. Credit: Upendo Fm
Credit: Upendo Fm
