Pope Francis has appointed Reverend Father John Kiplimo Lelei as the auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret.
Until his recent appointment, Father Kiplimo was the vicar general at the same diocese.
An auxiliary bishop is responsible for assisting the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese.
Kiplimo was born on 15 August 1958 in Soy, Uasin Gishu County. He studied philosophy at Saint Augustine’s Senior Seminary in Mabanga, and theology at Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi.
He was ordained a priest on 26 October 1985 for the diocese of Eldoret.
He was awarded a doctorate in theology, specializing in liturgy, from the Universität Wien, and has held the offices of parish vicar in Suwerwa and Chepterit (1985-1987), parish priest in Yamumbi, Suwerwa, Chepterit and Tachasis, and vicar forane of the deaneries of Kitale and Nandi (1987-1996).
He has also held the offices of parish collaborator at the Saint Brigitta and Zum Gottlichen Erloser in the archdiocese of Vienna (1996-2002), lecturer at the AMECEA Pastoral Institute of Gaba (2003-2004), the Institute of Development Studies in Kobujoi (2003-2008) and the Saint Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary in Tindinyo (2003-2008), parish priest of Saint Peter’s in Kapsabet (2007-2008), lecturer and formator of Saint Matthias Mulumba Senior Seminary in Tindinyo (2008-2017), and rector of Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Nairobi (2017-2023). He is currently vicar general of Eldoret.