By Paschal Norbert
ELDORET, JULY 10, 2025 (CISA) – Pope Leo has officially erected the Catholic Diocese of Kapsabet, making it the 28th diocese in the country. The new ecclesiastical jurisdiction has been carved out of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret and will encompass the entire Nandi County.
The Holy Father has appointed Rt. Rev. John Kiplimo Lelei, the current Auxiliary Bishop of Eldoret, as the founding bishop of the Diocese of Kapsabet, at the same time releasing him from the titular see of Monte di Numidia.
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The 66 year-old Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei was born on August 15, 1958 in Soy, in the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret. He studied philosophy at St. Augustine’s Senior Seminary in Mabanga and theology at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi.
He was ordained a priest on October 26, 1985, for the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.
He has held the following positions and carried out further studies: Doctorate in Theology, with specialization in Liturgy, at the UniversitΓ€t Wien; Parish Vicar in Suwerwa and Chepterit (1985-1987); parish priest in Yamumbi, Suwerwa, Chepterit and Tachasis, and Vicar Forane of the Deanery of Kitale and Nandi (1987-1996); Parish collaborator of St. Brigitta and Zum Gottlichen Erloser, in the Archdiocese of Vienna (1996-2002); parish priest of St. Patrick in Kapcherop (2002-2003); and parish priest of St. Boniface in Tindinyo (2003-2007).
Teacher at the institutes: AMECEA Pastoral Institute of Gaba (2003-2004); Institute of Development Studies in Kobujoi (2004-2009) and at St. Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary-Tindinyo (2003-2008); parish priest of St. Peter’s in Kapsabet (2007-2008); Teacher and trainer at the St. Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary in Tindinyo (2008-2017); Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi (2017-2023). From 2023 to his appointment as auxiliary bishop of Eldoret on March 27, 2024, he was serving as the Vicar General of the Diocese.
