Pope Francis appoints Very Rev. Fr. John Kiplimo Lelei as Auxiliary Bishop

The Holy Father, Pope Francis has appointed Very Reverend Father John Kiplimo Lelei as Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.

The news of Fr. Kiplimo’s appointment was officially published in L’Osservatore Romano in Rome on March 27, 2024, at 12:00 pm Rome time and 2:00 pm Kenyan time.

His Excellency Archbishop Bert van Megen, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan, also 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 honor 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 clergy of 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.