KENYA: Pope Appoints New Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi
NAIROBI, October 5, 2007 (CISA) -Pope Benedict XVI has today appointed
Most Rev. John Njue the third Kenyan Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi.
Until his appointment, Njue was Coadjutor Archbishop of Nyeri
and chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC). He is also Apostolic
Administrator of Murang’a Diocese.
The new head of the Church in Nairobi is one of the most experienced Catholic
leaders in Kenya today, having held important positions at the KEC since his
appointment as bishop 21 years ago.
Archbishop Njue, 63, replaces Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana ‘a Nzeki
who retires. Last Christmas, Ndingi turned 75, the retirement age for Catholic
bishops.
Njue becomes the third Kenyan Archbishop of Nairobi after Ndingi
and the late Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga. The Archdiocese of Nairobi,
founded in 1862, has over a million Catholics in 100 parishes in the capital
and outlying districts.
Archbishop-elect Njue was born in 1944 at Kiriari in Embu on the eastern slopes
of Mount Kenya and was baptized at Kevote Parish in 1948. He started school
in 1952 at the height of Kenya’s war of Independence against British
colonialism.
Encouraged by his teacher Nazario Mvungu and Matteo, a well-known
catechist, young John entered Nkubu junior Seminary in 1961. After secondary
education he proceeded to Rome’s Urbaniana University to study philosophy.
In 1974 he graduated with a master’s degree in theology from the Lateran
University and was ordained a priest.
Fr Njue served in Meru Diocese briefly before he left to teach philosophy
at St Augustine Senior Seminary in Western Kenya. He was rector from 1978
to 1982.
He worked in Meru again and was appointed, in 1985, rector of
St Joseph Seminary in Nairobi. On June 9, 1986, Pope John Paul II appointed
Fr Njue bishop of the new Diocese of Embu.
The Pope raised Bishop Njue to the rank of archbishop and named him coadjutor
of Nyeri on March 9, 2002.
KENYA: Archbishop Ndingi Thanks Pope, Recalls His Years in Nairobi
NAIROBI, October 5, 2007 (CISA) -The outgoing Catholic Archbishop of
Nairobi, Raphael Ndingi Mwana ‘a Nzeki, has expressed gratitude to Pope
Benedict XVI for letting him retire after nearly 40 years as bishop.
“I am very happy that the Holy Father has agreed to release me as the
Archbishop of Nairobi, after 38 years of service as a bishop of the Catholic
Church,” Archbishop Ndingi told CISA today at the city’s Holy Family
Basilica.
He at the same time welcomed the appointment of Archbishop John Njue as his
successor and pledged to support him. “I think he will do extremely well
with our support.”
Ndingi was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Nairobi June 14, 1996. He took
over from Cardinal Otunga June 21, 1997.
Archbishop Ndingi said his happiest experience as head of the Church in Nairobi
was “the commitment of Catholics to their Church,” seen in attendance
of mass, formation of catechumens often by volunteer catechists, the support
of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) and growth of vocations to the priesthood
and religious life.
The Church in Nairobi, now numbering more than a million Christians, has grown
tremendously over the last 50 years and is very strong, he said.
Talking of the Holy Family Basilica, the archbishop said, “You can come
here any morning between 6.30 and 7.30 [and see] people coming from all over
town to pray together. That is evidence of their strong faith in Jesus Christ.”
He praised lay Christians for their support of the Church. “At the moment
we get a lot of assistance from our lay people; as a matter of fact, we run
the Church through the contribution which comes from lay people.”
Ndingi’s greatest challenge as archbishop has been trying to be available
to the faithful when they needed him. He said did his best. “So far the
Lord has been good. I cannot say He has let me down, no; maybe I let Him down.”
The archbishop said it would be up to the new leadership to determine the
pastoral priorities for the archdiocese but, he added, the key is “to
work with the Church and for the Church - and the Church is the people of
God, not just the priest, not the bishop.”
Ndingi said he has no immediate plans for his retirement. He will take about a year to rest, after which he “will be available to anyone who needs me.”
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