Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops

Last updated April 27, 2019

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) is the assembly of bishops of the Catholic Church in Kenya. Its statutes were approved by the Holy See on December 7, 1976.

An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to meet regularly, with its own legal structure and ecclesial leadership function, is the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which was founded in 1863. More than forty episcopal conferences existed before the Second Vatican Council. Their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio, Ecclesiae sanctae.

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, is the apostolic episcopal see of the bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, ex cathedra the universal ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the worldwide Catholic Church, and a sovereign entity of international law. Founded in the 1st century by Saints Peter and Paul, by virtue of Petrine and Papal primacy according to Catholic tradition, it is the focal point of full communion for Catholic bishops and Catholics around the world organised in polities of the Latin Church, the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, and their dioceses and religious institutes.

Structure

The plenary sessions of the KCCB are attended by all the diocesan bishops, emeritus and auxiliary bishops, the apostolic vicar, and the military chaplaincy. The Conference accomplishes its mission through the Catholic Secretariat which, through the Episcopal Commissions, coordinates and implements the decisions of the plenary assembly, providing the appropriate technical support. Currently, there are 15 committees reporting to the KCCB: liturgy, doctrine, lay apostolate, mission, justice and peace, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, refugees, and others. There are also two sub-committees (canon law and apostolate of the nomads).

Regional bodies

The KCCB is a member of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) and Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar is an agency of the Catholic Church which includes the bishops of Africa and Madagascar.

Presidents

1969-1970: John Joseph McCarthy, the Archbishop of Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and the largest city of Kenya. The name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to "cool water", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 3,138,369 in the 2009 census, while the metropolitan area has a population of 6,547,547. The city is popularly referred to as the Green City in the Sun.

1970-1976: Maurice Michael Otunga, Cardinal, Archbishop of Nairobi

Maurice Michael Otunga was a Kenyan Roman Catholic prelate and cardinal who served as the Archbishop of Nairobi from 1971 until his resignation in 1997. Pope Paul VI elevated him into the cardinalate in 1973 as the Cardinal-Priest of San Gregorio Barbarigo alle Tre Fontane. Otunga was the son of a tribal chief and denied taking his father's place so as to pursue a path to the priesthood after completing his studies at home and in Rome. He was made a bishop in the 1950s and then transferred to a new diocese at its head; he later was transferred to Nairobi and was a participant in the Second Vatican Council.

1976-1982: John Njenga, bishop of Eldoret

1982-1988: Raphael Ndingi Mwana'a Nzeki, Bishop of Nakuru

Nakuru is the fourth-largest city in Kenya after Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. It is the capital of Nakuru County and former capital of the Rift Valley Province. It had 307,990 inhabitants within its town limits by 2009, making it the largest urban centre in the Kenyan mid-west with Eldoret in Uasin Gishu following closely behind. Nakuru lies about 1,850 m above sea level.

1988-1991: Nicodemus Kirima, Archbishop of Nyeri

1991-1997: Zacchaeus Okoth, Archbishop of Kisumu

1997-2003: John Njue, Bishop of Embu

2003-2006: Cornelius Arap Korir Kipng'eno, Bishop of Eldoret

Eldoret is a principal city in western Kenya and the fifth largest in the country also serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 metres at the airport to more than 2700 metres in nearby areas (7000–9000 feet). The population was 289,380 in the 2009 census, and it is currently the fastest growing town in Kenya. It is also the second largest urban centre in midwestern Kenya after Nakuru and the fifth largest urban centre in the country.

2006-2015: John Njue, Cardinal, Archbishop of Nairobi

2015- : Philip Arnold Subira Anyolo, Archbishop of Kisumu

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The Episcopal Conference of Slovakia (ECS), established by the Apostolic See, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops, Slovak Republic, who together perform some pastoral duties for the faithful of the Catholic Church in Slovakia and to provide to people especially the form and manner apostolate, suitably adapted to the circumstances of time and place according to law. ECS was 23 March 1993. The Episcopal Conference of Slovakia is based on the law itself have legal personality . The Slovak Bishops' Conference includes all diocesan bishops of the Slovak Republic and according to their rights on a par with the position, and coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops and other titular Bishops who are in that territory or outside it perform a specific task entrusted to them the Apostolic See or the Episcopal Conference of the common good of the country . Members of the Slovak Bishops 'Conference as well as Diocesan Bishops and their rights under par for the position, and coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops of the Byzantine rite in the Slovak Republic belonging to another Bishops' Conference. Emeritus Bishops are not members of the Episcopal Conference of Slovakia, but may be invited as consultors of several plenary sessions and to be members of some episcopal commissions. Slovak Bishops' Conference are: Plenary Session, the Permanent Council General Secretariat, Council for Economic Affairs and the Committee and the Conference Board provided for a defined purpose . (Statute of the Slovak Bishops' Conference adopted on 21 6th 2000, Art. 1 to 4).

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The bishops met in the local Episcopal Conference of Tanzania. Founded in 1956, the Episcopal Conference was officially recognized by the government in 1957. It includes all the Catholic bishops of the country, ordinary, and auxiliary emeritus. Its headquarters is located in the capital Dar es Salaam. The statutes of the Conference were approved by the Holy See on January 8, 1980. The TEC is a member of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) and Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). The TEC consists of the following institutions: the Plenary Assembly, the Permanent Council, the Secretary-General, eight departments, three research units, eight commissions. The authority and responsibility for managing the activities of TEC are granted Plenary Assembly, composed of all members, which meets once a year and is chaired by the President of the Conference. The management of the TEC is instead assigned to the Permanent Council, assisted by the Secretariat General. The Permanent Council is composed of the President of the Presiding Bishop of TEC and the Departments of TEC. Duties of the Secretary General are to organize the work of the Plenary Assembly, to implement its decisions, to liaise between the dioceses of the country. The TEC is then composed of eight departments, three units and eight Commissions.

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