The appointment of the 49-year-old Priest, who has been serving as Parish Priest of St. Monica Nyamsaria Parish of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kisumu, was officially announced by the Holy See Press Office on Friday, November 13.
The appointment follows Bishop Mairura’s request for assistance in his Episcopal Ministry, which he disclosed in a Tuesday, November 10 message inviting clergy, women and men Religious, and lay representatives to welcome the new Coadjutor Bishop at St. Charles Lwanga Cathedral.
“I asked for a helper in the Episcopate work in the Diocese of which my request has been answered,” Bishop Mairura wrote.
A Coadjutor Bishop assists the Diocesan Bishop in governing the Diocese and has the right of succession. Under Church law, he becomes the Diocesan Bishop when the see falls vacant, provided he has legitimately taken possession of his office (Canon 403 §3 and Canon 409 §1).
In his message, Bishop Mairura announced a gathering beginning with Holy Mass at 11 a.m. on November 13, with the official announcement and introduction of the coadjutor scheduled for 2 p.m. East African Time (noon Rome time).
He asked Priests to cancel burials and other activities scheduled for the day so that they could gather at the Cathedral.
“We will all assemble at the Cathedral to welcome the Coadjutor Bishop of Our Diocese,” the 72-year-old Kenyan Catholic Bishop said in his two-page circular.
The Catholic Bishop of Kisii Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in July 1995 expressed gratitude to Pope Leo XIV, writing, “We as a Diocese are grateful to the Holy Father and we assure Him of our Prayers.”
Born on 2 May 1977, Bishop-elect Oduor entered the Order of St. Augustine in Kenya in 1998.
According to the Vatican biography, he studied philosophy at the Consolata Institute of Philosophy and theology at Tangaza University (TU) in Nairobi. His formation also included a novitiate in Jos, Nigeria.
He obtained a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi.
He made his Perpetual Profession on 16 October 2005 and was ordained a Priest on 4 November 2006.
Following his ordination, he served as Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart Parish in Baba Dogo Parish of Nairobi Catholic Archdiocese, from 2006 to 2009, before becoming its Parish Priest, a responsibility he held until 2011.
From 2012 to 2019, he served as Prior and Formator at the Augustinians’ International House of Formation, known as the Theologicum, in Nairobi.
Bishop-elect Oduor has been a Councillor of the Augustinian Vicariate in Kenya since 2015 and Parish Priest of St. Monica in Nyamsaria since 2020.
He also served as Dean of Kisumu Deanery from 2021 to 2024 and has been a member of the Archdiocese of Kisumu’s College of Consultors since 2024.