New diocese erected in Kenya, pope appoints its first bishop

ACI Africa, Jul 11, 2025 / 15:06 pm

Pope Leo XIV has erected a new Catholic diocese in Kenya and appointed its first bishop. 

The Holy See Press Office announced July 10 that the Diocese of Kapsabet will be the 28th episcopal see in Kenya, carved out from the country’s Eldoret Diocese, and Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei will be its first bishop.

Lelei has been serving as an auxiliary bishop of Eldoret, the diocese in which he was born.

The newly established diocese becomes the eighth suffragan diocese of the Kisumu Archdiocese, alongside Bungoma, Eldoret, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Kisii, Kitale, and Lodwar.

According to July statistics from the Vatican, the Kapsabet Diocese measures approximately 1,115 miles, with 313,655 Catholics representing 35.4% of the total population of the diocese.

The Diocese of Kapsabet, which covers Kenya’s Nandi County, will have 36 parishes and 52 priests — 44 of them diocesan and eight members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL). St. Peter’s Catholic Church in the township of Kapsabet will be the diocese’s cathedral.

The new bishop of Kapsabet

Lelei, born in August 1958, was ordained a priest for the Eldoret Diocese in October 1985 after completing his philosophical and theological studies at St. Augustine’s Mabanga Senior Seminary in Kenya’s Bungoma Diocese and St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi.

As a priest, Lelei served in various capacities, including as a parish priest and a college dean. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Vienna in Austria and has served as rector at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary and lecturer at the Pastoral Institute of Gaba in Eldoret under the auspices of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa and at St. Matthias Mulumba Tindinyo Senior Seminary, among other priestly duties.

Lelei, who has been serving as vicar general in the Eldoret Diocese, was consecrated a bishop in May 2024 and assigned the titular see of Mons in Numidia, from which he has been freed since being appointed bishop of Kapsabet. 

Speaking to journalists on July 10 shortly after his appointment, Lelei said he felt both joy and apprehension because of what’s involved in taking on the responsibilities of a diocese.

“This is not my work alone; it is the work of the people, and I will serve alongside the priests and the faithful,” he said.

The new bishop lauded the people of God in the Kenyan region for their faith, which he said is manifested in the increasing number of Christians. 

“Faith is deepening, and we can see the fruits in the many priests, women and men religious, and baptized believers,” he said.

As he prepares to lead the new diocese, Lelei urged unity and collaboration. 

“The new Diocese of Kapsabet is a gift born from the prayers, perseverance, and faith of the Christians of Kapsabet; a faith that has been evident for years,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.