KENYA: Eldoret Bishop Dominic Kimengich Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Pope Leo XIV, on Wednesday, January 28, appointed Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Kenya’s Eldoret Diocese as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa Archdiocese.
Bishop Kimengich will assist Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde, who is approaching retirement age, with the pastoral governance of the archdiocese.
As a Coadjutor Archbishop, according to the Code of Canon Law, the appointment grants Bishop Kimengich “the right of succession.”
“If it appears more opportune to the Holy See, it can appoint ex officio a coadjutor bishop who also has special faculties. A coadjutor bishop possesses the right of succession,” Can. 403 §3 states.
In this case, “When the episcopal see is vacant, the Coadjutor Bishop immediately becomes the bishop of the diocese for which he had been appointed, provided that he has legitimately taken possession of it,” Can. 409 §1. Thus, with a Coadjutor Archbishop in the Archdiocese of Mombasa, there is a seamless transition, with no period when the Archdiocese will remain vacant.
Born in 1961, Bishop Kimengich was ordained in 1986 and has since served the Church in various capacities, including pastoral, administrative, and formation roles, as well as parish work and service as General of the Nakuru Diocese.
He was appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of Lodwar Diocese in March 2010 and later became the Bishop of the same Diocese the following year in March 2011. In November 2019, he was transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, where he has been serving until his current appointment.
