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Boniface Lele

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Boniface Lele
Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa, Kenya (Deceased)
Archbishop Boniface Lele in 2007
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa
SeeMombasa
Appointed1 April 2005
Installed1 April 2005
Term ended1 November 2013
PredecessorJohn Joseph Njenga
SuccessorMartin Kivuva Musonde
Other post(s)Bishop of Kitui (2 November 1995 - 1 April 2005)
Orders
Ordination8 December 1974
Consecration2 February 1996
by Jozef Cardinal Tomko
RankBishop
Personal details
Born
Boniface Lele

(1947-04-14)April 14, 1947
Kyangwithya, Diocese of Kitui, Kitui County, Kenya
Died9 April 2014(2014-04-09) (aged 66)
Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya
Styles of
Boniface Lele
Reference style
Spoken styleHis Grace
Religious styleArchbishop


Boniface Lele (14 April 1947 – 9 April 2014) was a Roman Catholic prelate in Kenya. He was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa from 2005 until his health-related resignation in 2013. Before that, from 1995 until 2005, he was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitui, a Suffragan diocese of Mombasa. He died on 9 April 2014 as Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa, Kenya. He was 66 years, one week shy of his 67th birthday.

Early life

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Boniface Lele was born on 14 April 1947 at Kyangwithya, in Kitui Diocese. Kitui County, Kenya. After studying philosophy and theology, he was ordained a priest in December 1974.[1]

Priest

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He was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitui on 8 December 1974. He served in that capacity until 2 November 1995.[1][2]

Bishop

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Father Boniface Lele was named bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, on 2 November 1995. He was consecrated and installed at Kitui on 2 February 1996 by the hands of Jozef Cardinal Tomko, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Sabina assisted by Bishop William Dunne, Prefect of Kitui and Maurice Michael Otunga, Archbishop of Nairobi.[1][2]

On 1 April 2005, he was appointed Archbishop of Mombasa, Kenya. He succeeded Archbishop John Joseph Njenga who retired the same day. He served there until 1 November 2013, when he resigned and became the Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa, Kenya due to health reasons.[3]

He died on 9 April 2014, from a heart attack at the age of 66, five days before his 67th birthday.[1] He was buried on 22 April 2014 inside a grotto carved out of a coral rock beneath the Holy Ghost Cathedral Mombasa in Mombasa. The chief celebrant of the final requiem mass was John Cardinal Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi and chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB).[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d David M. Cheney (25 February 2024). "MicroData Summary for Archbishop Boniface Lele (born 14 April 1947; died 9 April 2014), Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Kansas City. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b John Mutiso (9 April 2024). "A Decade Remembered: Honoring Archbishop Boniface Lele's Legacy". Uzalendo News Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  3. ^ AMECEA (1 November 2013). "Kenya: Archbishop Boniface Lele of the Archdiocese of Mombasa Resigns". Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  4. ^ Waumini Communications; KCCB. "Kenya: Archbishop Lele laid to rest". Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 28 January 2025.

Succession table

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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by (19 October 1956 - 2 November 1995) Bishop of Kitui
(2 November 1995 - 1 April 2005)
Succeeded by
Preceded by (25 October 1988 - 1 April 2005) Archbishop of Mombasa
(1 April 2005 - 1 November 2013)
Succeeded by
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