Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA and Rose Achiego
 |
| Bishop elect Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Mwongela |
Pope Francis on Tuesday, March 17, appointed Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Mwongela who has been the Vicar General of Kitui as the new Bishop of the Diocese.
“When I got the message I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say. in fact, I was dumbfounded and I prayed for some time to let the message sink. I accepted and offered myself to God under the patronage of our Mother Mary and of course my patron saint, St. Joseph and St. Patrick because the Missionaries of Saint Patrick are the ones who evangelized Kitui,” Fr. Mwongela the Bishop-elect told AMECEA Online, disclosing that the message of his appointment coincided with the feast day of St. Patrick.
“I was assured by the Nuncio Archbishop Hubertus van Megen that it is not our work but God’s work, and this was a consolation to me,” he added.
Bishop-elect Mwongela will replace Archbishop Anthony Muheria who was transferred by the Pope to the Archdiocese of Nyeri on 23rd, April 2017 but has since doubled as the Apostolic Administrator for Kitui Diocese since April 2017.
As Vicar General of the Diocese, the Bishop-elect has been promoting unity among the clergy, Religious and laity and would wish to continue with the same spirit in his new ministry as bishop.
“We have been working together towards unity of priests, the Brothers and Sisters in the Diocese and at the same time as agents of evangelization. We empower the laity who have taken up the challenge to drive the Church forward and are in key positions in the Diocese such as members of finance committee, Caritas board, education board among others,” he said and continued, “I would wish to continue working together in unity, open to God’s Spirit.”
Bishop-Elect was born on 7th April, 1968. Since his priestly ordination as priest for Kitui Diocese, he has worked as a parish Vicar, parish priest, formator at the Saint Patrick formation house, diocesan chancellor doubling as director of the diocesan office for vocational pastoral care, Chaplain, Director of the Saint John Paul II Institute of Professional Studies and Vicar General since 2015 to date.
The Bishop-elect studied in Rome where he was awarded a licentiate from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Angelicum.