On February 15, 2023, Pope Francis elevated the Apostolic Vicariate of Isiolo in Kenya to a diocese and appointed the first bishop of the diocese, the Consolata missionary, Msgr. Anthony Ireri Mukobo, who was the Apostolic Vicar of Isiolo since the time he arrived on April 6, 2006. On May 4, 2024, the Pope appointed Msgr. Peter Makau, also a Kenyan Consolata missionary, aged 49, as coadjutor bishop of the same diocese of Isiolo.
By Jaime C. Patias *
Today, September 23, 2024, Msgr. Anthony turns 75 and is nearing the end of his service as Titular Bishop of Isiolo, having reached the canonical age to request to resign from office, as established by the Code of Canon Law (Canon 401, paragraph 1). Msgr. Anthony was ordained a priest on 5 January 1980 and a bishop on 18 March 2000.
Finding himself in Rome for his fourth ad limina visit, the bishop gave an interview to the Communication Secretariat where he took stock of the diocese’s evangelization journey, analyzing the pastoral challenges and prospects for the future of the diocese with the arrival of the young coadjutor bishop, Mgr. Peter Makau.
Located in the central part of Kenya, the diocese has an area of 25,700 km2 and a population of 268,000 inhabitants of which 19% are Catholic. There are 15 parishes, 74 educational institutions and 11 charities, including 5 dispensaries and 1 maternity hospital. In the diocese there are 27 diocesan priests, 6 religious priests, along with 58 religious men and women. There are also 10 full-time catechists and many lay people involved in the pastoral care of the Christian communities. Over the years the evangelization process of the local church has grown and given many fruits.
* Fr. Jaime C. Patias, IMC, Communication Secretariat, Rome.
