ELDORET, Kenya, Nov 14 – Pope Leo XIV has elevated Eldoret to a Metropolitan Archdiocese and appointed Kakamega Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe as its first Metropolitan Archbishop in a major reorganisation of the Catholic Church’s hierarchy in Kenya.
The announcement was made on Saturday through an official notification addressed to Kenyan bishops by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya.
The newly established Metropolitan Province of Eldoret will comprise the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Eldoret and four suffragan dioceses – Lodwar, Kapsabet, Kitale and Kericho.
Bishop Obanyi, who previously served as Apostolic Administrator of Eldoret, takes over leadership of the new ecclesiastical province following the appointment of the Eldoret Bishop Dominic Kimengich as Coadjutor Archbishop of Mombasa.
His elevation places him at the head of the new Metropolitan Archdiocese, with responsibility for its pastoral leadership and fostering communion among the four suffragan dioceses.
New ecclesiastical province
The establishment of the Metropolitan Province of Eldoret brings together dioceses that previously fell under two different metropolitan provinces.
Lodwar, Kapsabet and Kitale were suffragan dioceses of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu, while Kericho fell under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nairobi.
The new arrangement brings the four dioceses under Eldoret, strengthening pastoral coordination and collaboration across the region.
The Diocese of Eldoret traces its origins to June 29, 1953, when the Apostolic Prefecture…
