Thanks to our generous supporters, Christ the King Major Seminary in the Archdiocese of Nyeri, Kenya, whom we partner with through our sponsorship programme, had a hopeful and successful 2024. Recently the seminary rector, Very Rev Fr Daniel Mugwe Njoroge, sent us news of the past year:
The seminary continues to thrive as a cornerstone of religious education in east Africa, currently forming 385 seminarians on their journey to priesthood. With help from the steadfast support of Missio benefactors, the seminary has navigated both challenges and triumphs throughout 2024.
Fr Daniel sends greetings from Nyeri to Missio supporters. He shares:
‘We as a community are doing well and we thank God for his providence the whole of this year. To our benefactors from Missio, we thank you most sincerely for your enormous support that we have received from you all these years. May our good Lord bless your generosity.’
Milestones in Ministry
This year marked significant achievements in religious formation. Nine seminarians from the dioceses of Eldoret, Kisumu, and Lodwar completed their diaconate ministry within the seminary before advancing to priesthood in autumn 2024. In addition, 68 students reached important milestones in their spiritual journey, being installed into the ministries of Lector and Acolyte.
Meeting modern challenges
While 2024 brought its share of economic hurdles, particularly in the face of rising inflation and increased food costs due to higher taxation, the seminary community has shown remarkable resilience. The Catholic Church maintains its commitment to serving the poor, with the Archbishop actively engaging local Christians to support seminarian formation through material assistance.
The seminary is committed to being self-sustaining and has implemented various initiatives to reach this goal. Fr Daniel shares:
‘We rear beef cattle and do daily farming besides growing greens for our consumption. We also grow maize on our farm.’
These efforts help provide for the seminary’s needs while teaching valuable practical skills to future priests.
No vocation turned away
The 2024-2025 academic year, which began in August, highlighted both the seminary’s appeal and its current constraints. The vocations are there, but the seminary is not always able to take on everyone. Fr Daniel explains:
‘The seminary has three schools; Propaedeutic Year, Philosophy, and Theology. For this academic year 2024-2025, we had 117 applicants, but we could only admit 68. We hope that as we move on, we shall be able to expand the accommodation spaces in our seminary.’
In mission dioceses in Africa and Asia, it costs at least £700 a year to train a student for the priesthood. Even though their families and parish communities do everything they can to support them, and the Seminaries do their best to grow their own food, it’s a struggle to cover the full costs of seminary training.
Missio has been set a unique task by the Holy Father, to channel help from our supporters in England and Wales to help build the future of our Church. With your help, we can meet the practical needs of seminarians in mission areas like Kenya, so that no vocation is turned away.
Going forward with hope
The seminary community celebrated the ordination of sponsored seminarians in December 2024, and they extend their gratitude to Missio’s supporters for their continued partnership in forming tomorrow’s spiritual leaders. Thanks to you, they can continue to form tomorrow’s Church leaders in Kenya, even as they address the challenges of modern times with faith and determination.
Messages from Seminarians
Watch the films below for messages from two of the seminarians supported by our sponsorship programme and your generous donations and prayers.