Missio England and Wales has a long-standing relationship with five seminaries in Kenya, India, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Nigeria. These seminaries offer the opportunity to sponsor the training of a future Priest. When you sponsor a seminarian, you are building the Church of tomorrow, today.
Here, Fr Peter, Rector of Christ the King Major Seminary in Kenya, updates us on the joys and challenges of seminary life in 2022:
After the COVID-19 pandemic period, our academic calendar has returned to normal and our seminarians are studying and undergoing their formation journey as before.
The formation journey takes eight complete years divided in three stages: Propaedeutic 1st year where this year we have 64 seminarians, Philosophical studies 3rd year where we have 135 seminarians, and Theological studies 4th year and we have 130 seminarians studying for the Priesthood.
Daily life at Christ the King
The year has been good without major challenges. On 9 August, 2022 we elected a new government in Kenya. We thank God because this was one of the most peaceful elections ever, although those who were defeated weren’t happy. They took their case to the Supreme Court and also lost the case.
Due to the uncertainty of what would follow after, and because we had major renovations of our Seminary we delayed the opening dates of the new academic year. But, thanks be to God, we managed to cover the syllabus by extended our closing date of the first semester for three weeks instead.
Reasons to rejoice
We are happy to share that the number of seminarians increased from 306 in 2021, to 329 in 2022. And in 2023, we have a total of 329 seminarians from 23 dioceses doing their Philosophy and Theology training.
We are joyful that some of our seminarians from various dioceses were ordained; some to priesthood and others to diaconate. In early November 2022, we had the installation ceremony of lectors (31 seminarians) and acolytes (35 seminarians) by the Archbishop Philip Anyolo – the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Nairobi – in the presence of our Archbishop Anthony Muheria and Bishop Peter Chifukwa from Malawi.
Another cause for celebration was in late November 2022, when we hosted the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and Southern Sudan – His Excellency Humbertus van Megen – in the presence of Archbishop Anthony Muheria and more than 6,000 members of the Catholic Women’s Association.
Our hopes for 2023
We continue to pray that the Catholic faith will be more vibrant, lived and witnessed in more concrete ways, especially through charitable actions. It is also our hope that many more young people will generously respond to the vocation to Priesthood, so that more Priests spread the faith; especially in dioceses which have few agents of evangelisation, and where Christ’s faithful wait for too long for Eucharistic celebrations.
Fr Peter, Rector
Message from a Seminarian
Brother Mathew:
I am in my final year of my theological formation at Christ the King Major Seminary. I’d like to convey my heartfelt thanks to Missio for the spiritual and material assistance provided to me during my discernment journey.
It is a long journey that demands a lot of strength and resources. But because of your support, I am able to focus on my discernment wholly, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, while at the same time serving the Church in various ways.
The idea of a stranger helping me achieve my desire to serve as a Priest is humbling and encouraging. It gives me an impetus to work even harder, and also to cultivate a heart of charity to God and to others.
I heartily appreciate the efforts of Missio and continue to pray to God that he may bless all your endeavours. I commend you to the care of our Mother Mary and to the protection of our saviour, Jesus Christ whom we all serve in our vocations. Thank you.
Get involved
When you sponsor a seminarian, you build the Church of tomorrow, today.
- To find out how you can sponsor the training of a future Priest as an individual, or as a family, a community or a parish project, click here>>
- You can also donate here, by choosing ‘Train tomorrow’s Priests and Sisters’.
Thank you!