By Paschal Norbert
VATICAN CITY, JULY 4, 2025 (CISA) – Rt Rev Willybard Kitogho Lagho, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Malindi, has been appointed by the Holy Father, Pope Leo, as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Bishop Lagho brings to the role a wealth of experience in interfaith engagement. He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism (CIRDE) at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB). He is also the Chairman of the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), a national body that promotes harmony among Kenya’s diverse religious communities.
His appointment to the Dicastery underscores the Vatican’s recognition of his leadership and commitment to fostering peaceful coexistence among people of different faiths, both locally and globally.
The Vatican announced the appointments on July 3, with Bishop Lagho joining a distinguished panel of Church leaders from around the world tasked with advising and supporting the Church’s mission of dialogue with other religions.
Other notable appointees to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue include prominent cardinals from across the globe. Among them are Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem; Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D., Archbishop of Tokyo, Japan; Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, O.F.M. Conv., Archbishop of Teheran-Ispahan of the Latins in Iran; and Cardinal Frank Leo, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada.
Also appointed are several archbishops with distinguished records in ecclesial leadership and interfaith engagement. These include Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham in the United Kingdom; Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski of Saint Louis in the United States; Archbishop Yagop Mourad of Homs of the Syrians in Syria; and Archbishop Vira Arpondratana of Bangkok, Thailand.
The list extends to a diverse representation of bishops from every continent. These include Bishop Joseph Chau Ngoc Tri of Lang Són et Cao Bang, Vietnam; Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Umtata, South Africa; Bishop Teodoro Mendes Tavares, C.S.Sp., of Ponta de Pedras, Brazil; Bishop José Luis Mumbiela Sierra of Holy Trinity in Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bishop Ollo Modeste Kambou of Gaoua, Burkina Faso; and Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick, Ireland.
Also named are Bishop Paolo Martinelli, O.F.M. Cap., Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia in the United Arab Emirates; Bishop Derio Olivero of Pinerolo, Italy; Bishop Christophorus Tri Harsono of Purwokerto, Indonesia; Bishop Bertram Johannes Meier of Augsburg, Germany; Bishop Yousaf Sohan of Multan, Pakistan; and Bishop Echchampulle Arachchige Jude Nishantha Silva of Badulla, Sri Lanka.
A Life of Service and Dialogue
Born on March 23, 1958, in Taita-Taveta, within the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mombasa, Bishop Lagho has devoted more than three decades to pastoral ministry, education, and interreligious outreach. He studied philosophy at Saint Augustine’s Senior Seminary in Mabanga (1980–1982) and theology at Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi (1982–1986), and was ordained a priest on April 25, 1997.
Throughout his ministry, he has served in various pastoral and academic capacities including parish priest, rector, seminary formator, diocesan director of youth and vocational ministry, and vicar general of Mombasa. Academically, Bishop Lagho holds a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) and a licentiate in Arabic and Islamic studies, earned in Cairo and at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome.
He has also held international roles, including serving as a consultor for the former Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (2008–2014), and as a consultant with DANMISSION, a missionary agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark (2015–2016).
Since 2011, he has led the Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics (CICC), fostering collaboration among Christian, Muslim, and traditional religious leaders in coastal Kenya.
Bishop Lagho was appointed the first indigenous Kenyan Bishop of Malindi on December 2020. His new role in the Vatican’s Dicastery positions him to contribute further to global efforts to build bridges between faiths, particularly in regions marked by religious and cultural tensions.
The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, one of the key departments of the Roman Curia, promotes mutual understanding, respect, and collaboration between Catholics and followers of other religious traditions – a mission Bishop Lagho has long embraced in word and deed.
