KENYA: Former Rector of Seminary Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Kenya’s Eldoret Diocese
Monsignor John Lelei
Sr. Adelaide Ndilu and Rose Achiego Ande
Pope Francis has, on Wednesday, March 27, appointed the former rector of St. Thomas Major Seminary Very Reverend Father John Kiplimo Lelei as Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.
His Excellency Archbishop Bert van Megen, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan, conveyed the message of the appointment to the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) through an official communication.
In part, the Nuncio’s letter reads, “I have the honour and pleasure to inform you that Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Father John Kiplimo Lelei as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret. The Bishop-elect hails from the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.”
Until his appointment, Fr. Kiplimo was serving as the Chaplain of St George’s Chaplaincy and Vicar General of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, following his appointment by Bishop Dominic Kimengich on 28th August 2023.
Biography:
Bishop-elect John Kiplimo was born in 1958 in Soy, Uasin Gishu County, the then Rift Valley Province, within the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret. He pursued Philosophical studies at St. Augustine Seminary, Mabanga, from 1979 to 1981, and Theological studies at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Lang’ata, from 1981 to 1985. He was ordained a priest in 1985.
Following his ordination, he served in various parishes within the Catholic Diocese Eldoret for 12 years before proceeding to Vienna, Austria, in 1997 for further studies. He spent six years in Vienna pursuing his Masters and Doctoral studies in Liturgical Theology. Upon returning to Kenya, he was appointed Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary (STAS), Langata in Nairobi in May 2017, a position he held for six years.
