The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu () is the Latin

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

See for the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya located in the Lake Victoria area in the former Nyanza Province. It is the second-largest city after Kampala in the Lake Victoria Basin. The city has a population of slightly over 600,000. The ...

in western

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. ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

archiepiscopal see is St. Theresa’s Cathedral, in

Kisumu County Kisumu County is one of 47 counties in the Republic of Kenya. Its borders follow those of the original Kisumu District, one of the former districts of Kenya, administrative districts of the former Nyanza Province in western Kenya. Its headquart ...

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 898,036 Catholics (35.5% of 2,531,000 total on 4,616 km² in 41 parishes and a mission with 95 priests (70 diocesan, 25 religious), 349 lay religious (49 brothers, 300 sisters) and 35 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

Its

Suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

sees are: * Roman Catholic Diocese of Bungoma * Roman Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, senior daughter * Roman Catholic Diocese of Homa Bay * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kakamega *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kisii The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kisii () is a diocese located in the city of Kisii in the ecclesiastical province of Kisumu in Kenya. History * May 21, 1960: Established as Diocese of Kisii from the Diocese of Kisumu Bishops * Bishops of Kisii ...

, daughter * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitale * Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodwar

History

* Established on 15 Jul 1925 as

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Kavirondo, on territory split off from the then

Apostolic Vicariate of Upper Nile Upper Nile may refer to: *Upper portion of the river Nile and its surrounding areas. *Greater Upper Nile (region), a region of South Sudan *Upper Nile (state) Upper Nile is a state in South Sudan. The White Nile flows through the state, giving i ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

* Promoted on 27 May 1932 as

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

of Kisumu *Promoted on 25 Mar 1953 as Diocese of Kisumu * Lost territories repeatedly : on 29 Jun 1953 to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Eldoret, on 20 Oct 1959 to establish the then Apostolic Prefecture of Ngong, on 21 May 1960 to establish Diocese of Kisii, on 11 Jan 1968 to establish Diocese of Nakuru, on 27 Feb 1978 to establish Diocese of Kakamega * Promoted on 21 May 1990 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu

Bishops

Ordinaries

(all

Roman rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

) ;'' Apostolic Prefect of Kavirondo'' * Gorgonio Brandsma,

Mill Hill Missionaries The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill (), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert A. Vaughan. History The society was founded in 1866 by Herbert A. ...

(M.H.M.) (born Netherlands) (2 Dec 1925 – 27 May 1932 ''see below'') ;''Apostolic Vicars of Kisumu'' * Gorgonio Brandsma, M.H.M. ('' see above'' 27 May 1932 – death 20 Jun 1935),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Bargala (1933 – 20 Jun 1935) * Nicolas Stam, M.H.M. (born Netherlands) (9 Mar 1936 – retired 1946), Titular Bishop of Cediæ (9 Mar 1936 – 26 May 1949); died 1949 * Frederick Hall, M.H.M. (born England, UK) (9 Apr 1948 – 25 Mar 1953 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of Alba Marittima (9 Apr 1948 – 25 Mar 1953) ;''Suffragan Bishops of Kisumu'' * Frederick Hall, M.H.M. (''see above'' 25 Mar 1953 – retired 2 Dec 1963), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Castra nova (2 Dec 1963 – resigned 27 Jul 1976), died 1988 * Joannes de Reeper, M.H.M. (born Netherlands) (16 Jan 1964 – retired 20 Mar 1976), died 1980; previously

Apostolic Prefect An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

of Ngong (Kenya) (15 Jan 1960 – 16 Jan 1964) * Philip Sulumeti (first Kenyan incumbent) (9 Dec 1976 – 28 Feb 1978), succeeding as previous Titular Bishop of

Urci Urci was an ancient settlement in southeastern Roman Hispania mentioned by Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, and Claudius Ptolemy. The writings of these historians indicate that the city was located in the hinterland of what is now Villaricos, Spain, ...

(28 May 1972 – 9 Dec 1976) and

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Kisumu (28 May 1972 – 9 Dec 1976); next Bishop of

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). The town has an urban population of 107,227 (2019 census). Kakamega ...

(Kenya) (28 Feb 1978 – retired 5 Dec 2014) * Zacchaeus Okoth (27 Feb 1978 – 21 May 1990 ''see below'') ;''Metropolitan Archbishops of Kisumu'' * Zacchaeus Okoth (''see above'' 21 May 1990 – retired 12 Jan 2019), also President of Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (1991 – 1997) *

Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo (born 18 May 1956) is a Kenyan prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi, Nairobi since 2021. He has been a bishop since 1996, serving as ordinary in Roman Cat ...

(12 Jan 2019 – 28 October 2021); next Metropolitan Archbishop of Nairobi (28 October 2021- ...) * Maurice Muhatia Makumba (18 February 2022-...)

Auxiliary Bishops

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 ...

(1956-1960), appointed Bishop of Kisii; future Cardinal * Philip Sulumeti (1972-1976), appointed Bishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* John Oballa Owaa, appointed Bishop of Ngong in 2012 * Emmanuel Okombo Wandera (priest here, 1972-1987), appointed Bishop of Kericho in 2003 * Linus Okok Okwach, appointed bishop of Homa Bay 18 October 1993, resigned, 20 Feb 2002, died 12 September 2020

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org - data for all sections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kisumu, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Kenya Kisumu A