As Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV Set to Ordain First African Catholic Priests on June 27

Ahead of the June 27 event, the FB post indicates that Deacon Mutisya signed his pre–Priestly Ordination documents “on 12/06/2025 at Kitui Pastoral Centre in the presence of the Vicar General, Very Rev. Fr. John Mwandi and the Vocations Director, Rev Fr. Edward Mulwa.”

He is said to have drawn the inspiration of his Priestly ministry from Matthew 19:21: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me”.

Deacon Mutisya began his Priestly formation at Christ the King Major Seminary in 2015 and completed it in 2024.

He has a Certificate in Spiritual Studies, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and another in Theology, both from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).

According to the 2024-2028 Pastoral Strategic Plan of Kitui Diocese, the Kenyan Episcopal See that has 97 active Priests and 80 Seminarians targets to ordain 50 Priests by 2028.

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Meanwhile, in another Facebook post, the leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha has announced that the Holy Father is to ordain Deacon Hilary Izuegbunam and Deacon Jude Okoye Priests during the June 27 Eucharistic celebration at St. Peter's Basilica.

Archbishop Valerian Maduka Okeke ordained the two as Deacons in December 2024, after they completed their theological formation in Rome. He had sent them to Rome in 2020 for theology studies. 

The Nigerian Catholic Archdiocese had originally scheduled their Priestly ordination for July 12 at the Most Holy Trinity Cathedral of Onitsha Archdiocese.  

However, they adjusted the plan following a personal request by Pope Leo XIV, who asked to ordain them in Rome alongside 30 others from around the world as part of Priests’ participation in the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which the late Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of 2024 Christmas.

Among those to be ordained Priests from Africa is Deacon Blaise Ofoe Mankwa, a Ghanaian-born member of the Clergy of Kingston Catholic Diocese in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an archipelago of islands situated in the Eastern Caribbean at the southern end of the Windward Islands chain.

Deacon Blaise, who started his Priestly and Missionary formation with the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) has shared his excitement about the June 27 celebration.

“Being ordained by Pope Leo is something I never imagined in my wildest dreams. For me personally, it feels like God saying, ‘I see you. I called you. I am with you,’” Catholic Trend has quoted Deacon Blaise as saying in a June 26 report.

The report has Deacon Blaise saying that being ordained by the Holy Father “humbles me deeply” and that “I know I’m not here by merit but by grace.”

“As a witness to vocations in Africa, I hope my story says: ‘It’s possible. God still calls. And He uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways,’” Deacon Blaise is further quoted as saying ahead of his Priestly Ordination on Friday, June 27 at the Vatican.

This story was updated on 26 June 2025 after its first publication on 24 June 2025

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Nicholas Waigwa is a Kenyan multimedia journalist and broadcast technician with a professional background in creating engaging news stories and broadcasting content across multiple media platforms. He is passionate about the media apostolate and Catholic Church communication.