John Joseph Njenga (25 December 1928 - 4 November 2018) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who was the Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa () is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Mombasa in Kenya. History * May 8, 1955: Established as Diocese of Mombasa e Zanzibar from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nairobi * Decembe ...

from 1990 until his age-related retirement in 2005. Before that, from 1988 until 1990, he was the Bishop of Mombasa before the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese. Prior to Mombasa, he served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Eldoret from 1970 until 1988. He was appointed bishop on 19 October 1970 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He died on 4 November 2018, as the Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa, Kenya, one month shy of his 90th birthday.

Background and education

He was born on 25 December 1928 to Peter Kimani and Maria Wanjiru in Tigoni,

Kiambu County Kiambu County is a county in the former Central Province of Kenya. Its capital is Kiambu and its largest town is Thika town. Kiambu County is the second most populous county in Kenya after Nairobi County. Kiambu County borders Nairobi and Kaji ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He attended primary school in his home area. He completed secondary school at

Mang'u High School Mang'u High School is a Kenyan Roman Catholic National High School established in 1925, located in Kiambu County along the Thika Road, Nairobi-Thika Highway from Thika, Kenya. Mang'u High School is ranked among the top schools nationwide in Ken ...

in Kiambu County. He studied both

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at a seminary at Kibosho,

Kilimanjaro Region Kilimanjaro Region (''Mkoa wa Kilimanjaro'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The regional capital and largest city is the municipality of Moshi, Tanzania, Moshi. With the 3rd highe ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, before he was ordained a priest in 1957. Later, he graduated with a master's degree in

social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and with a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

degree from the

Pontifical Urban University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian, is a pontifical university that was under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The university's mission is to ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy.

Priest

He was ordained priest of Nairobi, Kenya on 17 February 1957, by Archbishop

John Joseph McCarthy Bishop John Joseph "J.J." McCarthy C.S.Sp. (27 April 1896 – 13 January 1983),Bishop J.J. McCart ...

, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Nairobi at ''Lioki Catholic Church'', in the Archdiocese of Nairobi. He served in that capacity until 19 October 1970. As a priest, he served in various roles both inside and outside his diocese including as: * Priest at ''Queen of Apostles Seminary'' in Nairobi Archdiocese from where he served from 1957 until 1959. * Member of the Catholic Secretariat in the Department of the Lay Apostolate * First African Parish Priest at Our Lady of Visitation Church (OLVC) in Makadara, Nairobi starting in 1964. * He was selected as a

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

, being the first

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

Kenyan priest to be awarded the title. * Later, he was appointed as the Education Secretary for the Archdiocese of Nairobi. * He was the lead negotiator with the Central Kenyan Government in the negotiations of the ''Education Act of 1968'' which approved the teaching of religion in schools. * He negotiated for the creation of the ''St. Paul's Chaplaincy'' through a partnership between the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

University of Nairobi The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...

Bishop

Bishop Njenga was appointed bishop and selected to head the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret on 4 October 1970. He was ordained and installed at

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

, Diocese of Eldoret, on 22 November 1970 by the hands of Archbishop Pierluigi Sartorelli, Titular Archbishop of Semina assisted by Archbishop

Maurice Michael Otunga Maurice Michael Otunga (January 1923 – 6 September 2003) was a Kenyan Catholic prelate and cardinal. He served as the Archbishop of Nairobi from 1971 until his resignation in 1997. Pope Paul VI elevated him into the cardinalate in 197 ...

, Coadjutor Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya & Titular Archbishop of Polymartium and Bishop

Caesar Gatimu The Right Reverend Caesar Gatimu (18 May 1921 – 20 February 1987) was a Roman Catholic prelate in Kenya, who served as Bishop of the Diocese of Nyeri from 1964 until his retirement in 1987. He previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Nyeri fr ...

, Bishop of Nyeri. On 25 October 1988, after 18 years at Eldoret, he was appointed Bishop of the Catholi Diocese of Mombasa. He took possession of the diocese on 12 February 1989. On 21 May 1990, The Holy Father

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, elevated the diocese of Mombasa to an archdiocese and elevated the bishop there (John Joseph Njenga) to an archbishop. On 1 April 2005, the age-related application for retirement from pastoral services submitted by Archbishop John Joseph Njenga, was accepted by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Archbishop

Boniface Lele Boniface Lele (14 April 1947 – 9 April 2014) was a Roman Catholic prelate in Kenya. He was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa from 2005 until his health-related resignation in 2013. Before that, from 1995 until 200 ...

was appointed to replace him as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mombasa. Before his retirement Bishop Njenga also served as the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the ''Kenya Episcopal Conference'' (KEC) currently the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) from 1967 until 1970. He also served as chairman of the same organisation from 1976 until 1982. He then relocated to the ''Queen of Apostles Seminary Rauraka'', in

Ruaraka Ruaraka is an industrial and residential suburb in the city of Nairobi. Located within the larger sub-county of Kasarani, it is approximately northeast of Nairobi's central business district off Thika Road. Location Ruaraka is located appro ...

, Archdiocese of Nairobi. While there, he continued to serve the Church through ''Archbishop Njenga Foundation'', a charitable Organization for the vulnerable children. He died on 4 November 2018 at the ''Mater Misericordiae Hospital'' in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya's capital city. He was 89 years old.

Succession table

(29 January 1954 - 19 October 1970) (27 February 1978 - 12 March 1988)

References

External links