DAILY NEWS

Two Irish Missionaries appointed to the Council of Kenyan university

Members of St. Patrick’s Missionary Society

Two well-known Irish missionaries ministering in Africa have been appointed to the first governing Council of Tangaza University College in Nairobi.

Tangaza College was established in 1986 as a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, and has now gained university status. It has its roots in the Catholic tradition planted and nourished in Eastern Africa through missionary endeavours. Its student body are multi-ethnic and inter-religious from Africa and numerous other countries around the world, Matt Moran writes.

Bishop Maurice Crowley – a member of St. Patrick’s Missionary Society – is a native of Berrings, Co. Cork, and was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Kitale in 1998. At that time, the new diocese had just 16 parishes with 15 local priests, and today it has 34 parishes with 68 priests. He has played a leading role in expanding education facilities throughout the diocese which now has over 500 Catholic sponsored primary and secondary schools. In addition to his new appointment, he is also a member of the Council of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

Fr. Patrick Devine – a member of the Society of African Missions – is a native of Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon. He set up the Shalom Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in Kenya in 2009. His efforts in peace-building started attracting international recognition when he was awarded the 2013 International Caring Award joining recipients that include the Dalai Lama, former US President Jimmy Carter, Mother Teresa and Senator George Mitchell. In 2014, eight countries in Eastern Africa presented him with the prestigious IGAD Award for his visionary contribution to peace and development in the vast region.

He is a regular guest speaker at leading universities in the USA, including Harvard and DePaul. He is an adjunct faculty member and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for Conflict Intervention at Maynooth University. At Tangaza College, Fr. Devine has been lecturing for over 10 years. Prior to that he served on the college’s previous board for 12 years and was its deputy chairperson. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science and Public Administration, a Master’s Degree in Peace Studies and International Relations, and is certified in Corporate Governance Training.

Reacting to his appointment to the Council, Fr. Devine said: “I am honoured to be appointed to the first Council of Tangaza University College, and I look forward to contributing to its governance and administration. The mission of the college is to provide an all-round quality education in an environment which promotes freedom and responsibility, excellence in teaching and learning, research and scholarship, ethical and integral development in service to society. The college strives for the integral formation in the physical, intellectual, moral, social, and cultural dimension of its students. What I really like is that the skills of bringing about social transformation and justice for the poor and oppressed are integrated into every aspect of the educational process at the college.”

The Country Director of Shalom, Irish-born Fr. Oliver Noonan SMA, also lectures on peace studies at Tangaza University. Shalom is an inter-religious organisation pioneering conflict resolution, peace-building, and development interventions in strife-torn regions of Eastern Africa. Its mission is to work towards a society free of physical violence and unjust social structures. It is registered in Kenya, the USA, UK-Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and has evolving committees elsewhere.

(Matt Moran is a writer living in Cork. Author of “The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On”, his forthcoming book is “The Theology of Integral Human Development”)


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