Nicodemus Kirima (March 3, 1936 – November 27, 2007) was the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Nyeri Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county headquarters of Nyeri County. The town was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province. Following the dissolution of the former pr ...

. Kirima served as the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Diocese of Nyeri since 1988 when he was appointed to succeed the late Bishop

Caesar Gatimu The Right Reverend Caesar Gatimu (born 18 May 1921, Limuru, Kenya - died 20 February 1987, Nyeri, Kenya) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nyeri, Kenya. Vocation On 17 March 1947, aged 25, Gatimu was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Nye ...

Early life

Nicodemus Kirima was born on 1936 in

Karatina Karatina is a town in Nyeri County, Kenya. It hosts a municipal council and the headquarters of Mathira East district. Karatina municipality has a total population of 6,852, all classified as urban (1999 census). It has six electoral wards, all ...

Nyeri District Nyeri County is a county located in the central region of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Nyeri. It has a population of 759,164 and an area of 2361 km2. It is currently under the leadership of H.E. Governor Mutahi Kahiga. Other gove ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He was ordained as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest on December 22, 1962.

Bishop

Kirima was appointed the Roman Catholic Bishop of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

in February 1978. He was appointed as Bishop of Niyeri in 1988 to replace the late Bishop Caesar Gatimu.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

elevated Kirima to

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

in May 1990. As a result, Kirima was given the title of Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima. In 1994 he appointed chair of the Devil Worship Commission by then President

Daniel arap Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He was the country's longest-serving president. Moi previously served as the third vice ...

Archbishop Kirima underwent a

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantati ...

in 2002 when his brother donated one of his kidneys to him. His health remained good until 2006 when Kirima developed

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

while on a trip to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His health continued to deteriorate over the next year. He lapsed into a coma on November 4, 2007, while visiting Consolata Mission Hospital-Mathari, where he was receiving

kidney dialysis Kidney dialysis (from Greek , , 'dissolution'; from , , 'through', and , , 'loosening or splitting') is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions natura ...

. He was airlifted to

Nairobi Hospital The Nairobi Hospital is a private hospital located in upperhill area, Nairobi, Kenya.The hospital was founded in 1954 as a European hospital. Location It is located along Argwings Kodhek Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi. The hospital is located approx ...

for treatment but did not recover. Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima died at

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows throug ...

, on November 27, 2007, of kidney complications. He was 71 years old.

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Nicodemus Kirima † biography
*https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/kenyan_archbishop_kirima_dies In 1994 he was appointed by the then president Daniel arap Moi to head a committee to investigate devil worshipping.

References

1936 births 2007 deaths Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Kenya 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Kenya People from Nyeri County Roman Catholic bishops of Mombasa Roman Catholic archbishops of Nyeri {{RC-archbishop-stub