Background

	The Catholic Church made its debut in Kenya in 1498, when Vasco da Gama erected a cross on the sea shore of Malindi. This was followed by a visit of St. Francis Xavier on his way to Goa in 1542, and a community of 600 Kenyans was recorded at Mombasa in 1599 under the Augustinian priests. With the arrival of the Holy Ghost Fathers 1860, the Consolata Fathers in 1902 and the Mill Hill Fathers in 1903, the Catholic Church reached the inland of Kenya.The French Holy Ghost Fathers, with Fr. Tom Burke of Limerick among them, established the first presence at St. Austin's Mission in Nairobi a century ago. It was sixty years later before the " closed area " of Turkana was reached by Bishop Joseph Houlihan's priests from the Diocese of Eldoret in 1962. 1951 was the year St. Patrick's Missionary Society (“The Kiltegan Fathers”) looked beyond the narrow limits of Southern Nigeria where they previously had concentrated.

	For 19 years, the Society had worked only in Nigeria where there was still more than enough work for its priests. However, there were greater needs elsewhere and, at Rome's request, a new mission was undertaken in Kenya on the opposite side of the African continent. In due course the area was divided into the three dioceses of Lodwar, Eldoret and Nakuru. In 1956 Kiltegan accepted responsibility for Kitui, another Kenya mission, taking over from the Holy Ghost Fathers.By the end of the 1950's there were nearly 200 Kiltegan priests in Africa

	The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitui is situated in a semi-arid rural area about 112 miles east of Nairobi, the Capital City of Kenya in East Africa. It covers two administrative districts namely, Kitui and Mwingi with an area of 14,000 square miles and a population of over 1,000,000 people. About 15% of this population are baptized Catholics distributed in 23 Parishes with a total of 430 mission churches which are about 7 miles apart. The Diocese lies South of the Equator and the Sahara Desert; an area prone to shortage of rain which cause long droughts resulting to lack of water and food that raise a serious financial strain on the people towards provision of essential commodities and services. The two districts are inhabited by the Kamba people. The Kamba people are peasant farmers who grow only local food crops namely, corn, beans, peas, yams, millet, pumpkins, Citrus fruits (Oranges, lemons, grapes) and many others. They also keep domestic animals which include a local breed of cattle, goats and sheep which are resistant to the dry conditions in the area.

	The Diocese of Kitui was created in 1963 and administered by St. Patrick’s Missionaries from Ireland. At this time there were only 4 Parishes with less than 2000 Catholics. Over the last 41 years the diocese of Kitui has experienced a tremendous growth. To date, there are over 260, 000 baptized catholics in 24 Parishes, with 64 diocesan Priests, and 5 missionary priests ministering in the Diocese, being assisted by 267 catechists in teaching faith. Also, there are 12 congregations of Religious Male and Female in the diocese. The notable church groups in the Diocese include: Catholic Men Association; Catholic Women Association (CWA); the Youth (Senior and Junior); Catholic Teachers Associtaion;Young Christian Students (YCS);Kenya Diocesan Priests' Association (Kitui)-KEDIPA(Kitui), Association of Sisters of Kenya (Kitui) AOSK (Kitui); including devotional groups such as St. Alloys Altarboys club, Shirika la Bikira Maria (within junior youth Programme); St. Monica (within CWA) Pioneer; Acoholic Anonymous Bishop Office : The first Bishop was His Lordship the Late Rt. Rev. Bishop William Dunne, who was succeeded by Rt. Rev. Boniface Lele in 1996. Following his appointment as the Archbishop of Mombasa Archdiocese in 2005, Rev. Fr. Paul Healy became the Diocesan Administrator, who was replaced by His Lordship Rt. Rev. Bishop Martin Kivuva as the current Apostolic Administrator, as the Diocese still awaits for the appointment of a new Bishop. - Local priests: 64 - Missionaries: 5 - 12 Congregations of Religious Male and Female, with Daughters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, being Diocesan - Seminarians: 31 at various stages of formation. - Catechists: 267 - Baptized Catholics : 260,000 - Parishes: 24 Catholic Sponsored Schools: · Kindergarten : 3 · Grade Schools: 237 · High Schools: 44 Health Care Institutions: · Hospitals: 2; (Mutomo Mission Hospital; Muthale Mission Hospital) · Dispensaries: 11

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