The Consolata missionary, Father Maurice Sheith Oluoch Awiti, born in 1972 in Nyabondo, in Kisumu County (Kenya), is the son of Wadawi John Awiti and Mary Auma Ajuok. He currently carries out his ministry in Manizales, Colombia.
By Jaime C. Patias *
In this video, recorded in Rome in September 2025 during the ongoing formation course G25, he recounts his vocational journey, his formation, and the missionary experience that has accompanied him for more than twenty years.
Maurice encountered the Consolata Missionaries while completing his studies at Ringa College. He subsequently entered the Philosophy Seminary in Nairobi and continued his Novitiate formation in Sagana, where, on August 6, 1997, he made his first religious profession. He then pursued the theological studies at Allamano House in Nairobi, where he met Father Antonio Vismara, a great formator who died on September 20, 2025.
After his priestly ordination on September 27, 2001, Father Awiti was assigned to the mission in Maralal. “I would like to emphasize the work I carried out with young people in the outskirts of Maralal,” the missionary recalls. “Later, I was transferred to Kisumu, where I continued to dedicate myself to youth ministry and to the promotion of Basic Christian Communities.”
The experience he gained in this pastoral field led him to serve as Administrator of the Nairobi Seminary, where he contributed to the organization and management of the institution. Subsequently, a new experience opened up for him in the area of vocation ministry. “It was a gradual journey, accompanying young people who wished to enter the Institute,” he explains.
The time came to leave Kenya, and Father Awiti was assigned to Colombia, in South America. “The first challenge was learning Spanish and then beginning my missionary work. After the language course in Medellín, I received my first assignment in Iquitos, Ecuador, where the Colombia Region had a community. There, in addition to adapting to the climate, the greatest challenge was getting to know and understand the culture of the indigenous peoples. I asked myself how I could accompany these communities, bearers of a millenary history, within the framework of the ad gentes mission to which we Consolata Missionaries are called,” he says.
This experience gave rise to a desire to pursue further studies in cultural anthropology. Father Awiti subsequently attended the University of Quito to specialize in this field. “I studied for two years and then returned to the parish where I was serving. Later, I received a scholarship from the University of the Andes to pursue a doctorate in History. My aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the processes through which indigenous peoples organized their lives, particularly within the context of the Church’s journey. It was a very valuable experience that gave me the opportunity to explore more deeply the life and work of one of the most important bishops in Latin America, Bishop Leonidas Proaño” (San Antonio de Ibarra, January 29, 1910 – Quito, August 31, 1988).
The research was published in the volume “In the Footsteps of Leonidas Proaño” (Abya-Yala Publishing House, 2025). In the book, Father Awiti highlights the Ecuadorian bishop’s commitment to indigenous peoples, emphasizing his closeness to their communities, his appreciation of indigenous cultures, and his constant defense of their dignity and rights.
After his experience in Ecuador, Father Awiti was transferred to Colombia, to Manizales, where he currently serves in the pastoral accompaniment of students at the Consolata Missionaries’ Colegio Campestre. For the past two years, he has lived in the IMC San José community with the elderly and sick missionaries of the Colombia-Ecuador Region.
Priestly Jubilee
While in Rome participating in the ongoing formation course in September 2025, Father Awiti reflected on his Priestly Jubilee, celebrating 25 years of priestly ordination, in harmony with the 2025 Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope.”
“At this moment, I truly feel like a pilgrim of hope, especially because I am sharing this journey with a group of confreres, some of whom I had not seen for 25 years. It is a precious time to rediscover my vocation within the Institute: an opportunity to return to the roots by visiting the Founder’s birthplace (in Castelnuovo Don Bosco), the Mother House (in Turin), the General House, and finally Rome, where it all began.
It is a pilgrimage that helps me rediscover the meaning of the call that God continues to address to me. I experience it as a journey of great hope and renewed strength to continue along my path as a Consolata Missionary.”
Conclusively, Father Awiti poses a question: “How can we be meaningful in today’s world? During the course, we explored the challenges of religious life and those of our time, seeking to understand how we can return to our charism and spirituality. Therefore, following the example of Saint Joseph Allamano, we are invited to live our missionary vocation with hope, joy, and renewed enthusiasm.”
* Father Jaime C. Patias, IMC, Communications Office.
