Emulate St. Joseph in your Episcopal Ministry, Nuncio in Kenya tells Newly Ordained Bishop

“Being the good shepherd means that sometime you will go to places you’d rather not, like St. Joseph, who had to take his family and flee into Egypt,” the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya who doubles as the representative of the Holy Father in South Sudan told the Bishop-elect.

He further told the Kenyan Cleric he was about to ordain a Bishop, “You will receive the pastoral staff as a sign of your episcopacy. May it always be a staff of the good shepherd. May it never be a staff to oppress with, but to lead with. May it never be a staff to disperse, but to gather with.”

Archbishop van Megen asked the Bishop-elect to “be a rock on which Christ can build his Church, so as to be led by Christ in those places you’d rather not go.”

Making reference to the episcopal ring, which is a sign of a Bishop’s relationship with his Diocese, the Nuncio told the Bishop-elect, “Like in marriage, you will have to take care of your bride. Cherish, love and sacrifice for her.” 

“Just as Joseph protected his bride, the virgin Mary, holy and blameless, you do the same for the Church of Malindi,” he added. 

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The Nuncio continued, “The Bishop is the bridge builder between God and his people by bringing sacrifices to the Lord, by celebrating the Eucharist.”

“St. Joseph is that man who placed himself in that service of the entire plan of salvation as he offered his home to Mary and his son. Also, the Bishop takes care of his family,” he told the Bishop-elect.

Making reference to the Apostolic Letter titled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”) in which Pope Francis declared the Year of St. Joseph, describing the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the protector of the Church, the Apostolic Nuncio urged the Bishop-elect to love, protect and cherish the Church. 

“Wilybard, may you intercede for the Church and never grow weary of caring for the people in the Diocese of Malindi,” the 59-year-old Dutch-born Vatican diplomat said.

“Be a protector to the Church in Malindi just as St. Joseph is a protector and be a good counsellor to the people of Malindi,” the Nuncio said, and added that a Bishop should be “a father to your people as St. Joseph is to the Church.” 

The newly ordained Bishop of Malindi Diocese who will turn 63 on March 23 is a member of the Clergy of Kenya’s Mombasa Archdiocese, where he was serving as Vicar General when Pope Francis appointed him Bishop last December.

He has succeeded Bishop Emmanuel Barbara who passed on in January 2018. 

In his maiden speech, Bishop Lagho called on the people of God in his Diocese and in Kenya to embrace each other’s differences and work for the good of the nation. 

“For all leaders and citizens, let us stop the idea of ​​dividing people with our own views against them. That idea fosters hatred and divisions rather than uniting people,” Bishop Lagho said shortly after his episcopal ordination. 

He added, “Let us learn to respect each other, recognize and cherish the beauty of all people, even non-religious people like us or those with different political affiliations with us.”

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The newly ordained Bishop pledged to commit himself “to building unity among the people living and receiving their services in the Diocese of Malindi.”

Making reference to his episcopal motto, “happy are the mediators,” Bishop Lagho promised to work with the people of God in Malindi to “build peace and spread the Gospel.”

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.