NYERI JUNE 20, 2017(CISA) – Archbishop Anthony Muheria has been installed as the new shepherd of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri.
The installation ceremony at Christ the King Major Seminary in Nyeri on June 17 was led by Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo,The Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan.
“We give thanks to God for this great youth. We thank God for his willingness to accept the mission that has been entrusted to him by Holy Father Pope Francis,” said Archbishop Balvo.
The newly installed Archbishop of Nyeri then celebrated his first Mass as an Archbishop while Bishop Philip Anyolo, chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops conducted the homily.
“ Please persevere and be brave in the new role that you are taking… We wish you all the prayers, success and happiness in the service of the Lord,” Bishop Anyolo told Archbishop Muheria.
In his acceptance speech, Archbishop Muheria thanked all the faithful for turning out in large numbers for the historic occasion and asked for prayers to accomplish the work already started by his predecessors.
“Today I am emotional because somehow am finding a new home. May God bless this journey we started together; I pray that the lord may grant us many years of service like Archbishop Peter Kairo has served and at the end we can sing the song of having accomplished what the lord has wished,” said Archbishop Muheria.
He further called on the faithful to rally behind him in his efforts to accomplish the new task that is ahead of him.
“Today we have not come just to talk. We have vowed that with Christ we will thrive, nothing will defeat us…We have been given the direction. We have been given the work to do, and then we should not backtrack. Let us not betray Christ but let us be faithful,” he said.
The Outgoing Archbishop of Nyeri,Peter Kairo congratulated his successor and thanked the faithful for supporting him during his tenure as the Archbishop.
“I am happy that after reaching my retirement age, Pope Francis has appointed new Archbishop Antony Muheria to succeed me. Congratulations! I welcome you into Nyeri. Let the people of God of Nyeri support you wholeheartedly with prayers and cooperation…Thank you for supporting me.Without your cooperation, I could not have achieved what we have achieved for those nine years,” said Archbishop Kairo.
John Cardinal Njue of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi congratulated the new Archbishop and challenged the faithful to ensure they play their part in the progress of the Church.
“Please do whatever it takes to see to it that this archdiocese moves on well…Each and every one of you has something that he or she can do to make sure that this diocese and archdiocese can be able to go higher and higher,” said the Cardinal.
