Bishop John Christopher Mahon, D.C.L, S.P.S. (1922-2004), was an Irish born priest a member of the

Kiltegan Fathers St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions (Latin language, Latin ''Societas Sancti Patritii pro Missionibus ad Exteros''; also known as the Kiltegan Fathers) is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for me ...

. He served as Bishop of

Lodwar Lodwar is the largest town in north-western Kenya, located west of Lake Turkana on the A1 road. Its main industries are basket weaving and tourism. The Loima Hills lie to its west. Lodwar is the capital of Turkana County. The town has a popula ...

, Turkana, Kenya from 1978 until 2000. Mahon was born on 25 December 1922 in Killurin, Killeigh,

County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

, Ireland. He was educated at Tullamore C.B.S., and Knockbeg College, Carlow. He was ordained a priest in 1948. Mahon studied Canon Law in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth earning a doctorate in 1951. He joined the teaching staff of the

Saint Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions St. Patrick's Society for the Foreign Missions (Latin ''Societas Sancti Patritii pro Missionibus ad Exteros''; also known as the Kiltegan Fathers) is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men composed of missionary priests ...

, Kiltegan. Dr Mahon left Kiltegan in 1959 when he was appointed to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogoja The Diocese of Ogoja ( la, Ogogiaën(sis)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Calabar, yet still d ...

, Nigeria, where he was Head of St. Thomas’ Teacher Training College. After nine years in Nigeria, Rev. Mahon moved to Kenya, after the outbreak of the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

. Mahon was ordained first Bishop of Lodwar on 25 April 1978. He died in Nairobi, Kenya suddenly on 10 November 2004, aged 82, and is buried where he served as bishop in Turkana, Kenya.Kenya: Retired Bishop Dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahon, John Christopher 1922 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic missionaries in Kenya 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Kenya Irish expatriate Roman Catholic bishops Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Offaly Roman Catholic bishops of Lodwar Irish expatriates in Kenya