|
 The
Catholic Diocese of Eldoret is situated in the Rift Valley Province of
Kenya . It is on the Western side of the Great Rift Valley. It
straddles the Equator. This area is mainly highland at 1,500
meters above sea-level but has some lowlands set on approximately 8000
square Kilometers. The total area of the Diocese is 9,254 Square
Kilometers,
It is generally a fertile area, with reliable rainfall which allows
small scale farming on the most part and herding as the predominant
occupations of the mainly rural people.
Eldoret town is the only industrialized town in the whole Diocese. The
town provides employment for over 50,000 workers.
HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE
The Diocese of Eldoret came into existence as the Apostolic prefecture
of Eldoret 52 years ago, on the feast of St. Peter and Paul on 29th
June 1953.
Before that, it was part of the Diocese of Kisumu, previously called
the vicariate of Kisumu and formerly known as the prefecture of
Kavirondo.
In 1925, a small church was built in Eldoret and a priest from Kisumu
paid regular monthly visits until 1928 when a plot was acquired for
the new church which was later followed by another in 1955.
In 1959, the then prefecture of Eldoret was upgraded to that of a
Diocese with Monsignor Joseph Houlihan as its first Bishop. He was
replaced by Rt. Rev, Emilio Njeru from 1969 to 1970 when Rt. Rev. John
Njenga took over as the Bishop.
The current Bishop, Rt. Rev. Cornelius Kipng'eno Arap Korir took over
as Bishop in 1990. The original Diocese of Eldoret has already been
subdivided three times, giving rise to the new Dioceses of Nakuru,
Lodwar and Kitale.
The Diocese is still large with 39 Parishes and a total population of
1,500,000 people. The Catholic population is 390.000, It covers Nandi,
Uasin Gishu, Keiyo and Marakwet Districts.
Under the Diocesan Development Board, various departments have been
established. These are: Education, Vocational Training, Justice and
Peace, Health Services / Aids, Women and Gender and the Water Program.
The Pastoral directorate on the other hand has the Vocations, Youth
and Communication departments.
|
 |
