2026 Summer Mission Appeal (Aug 22/23)

Fr. Simon Peter Kitute of the Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, will be celebrating Masses at St. Mark this weekend of August 22 23, in support of the Kitui Partnership. The Kitui Partnership is a global solidarity partnership between our archdiocese and the Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, begun in 2004 in recognition of our shared faith in the Eucharist. The Diocese of Kitui covers an arid and semi-arid rural region that often battles drought and famine, and we are hoping to raise $20,000 to help fund increased access to clean water, sanitation improvement, and education on best hygiene practices. Funds raised in excess of this amount will go to support the general and administrative work of the partnership. Thank you for your generosity.

About Fr. Simon Peter:

I was born into a Catholic family of five siblings in Matinyani, Kitui County, and belong to St. Patrick’s Parish, Mutune. I attended St. Patrick’s Mutune Primary School and Matinyani Secondary School before joining Christ the King Major Seminary in Nyeri for priestly

formation in spirituality, philosophy, and theology. I was ordained a priest on June 11, 2022, and currently serve as the parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi, Kamutei. For four years, I served as the diocesan youth chaplain, offering spiritual guidance through talks, confessions, recollections, and Mass. I enjoy football, swimming, movies, and traveling. I am passionate about youth ministry, school apostolate, and caring for the sick and elderly.

The Catholic Diocese of Kitui, where I serve, has 36 parishes spread across a vast and

semi-arid region of Kenya. Our communities face severe challenges due to climate

change—rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and unreliable rainfall have left many

families without access to clean water for drinking, sanitation, or livestock. This scarcity

of water has deepened poverty and made daily life difficult.

Access to clean and reliable water will greatly improve the livelihoods of our people.

With water available, families can engage in agriculture to boost food security and

income. Moreover, the many hours spent especially by women and children searching

for water can instead be used for schooling, farming, and other constructive activities.

Through this mission appeal, you have the opportunity to bring lasting transformation to

the lives of families in Kitui. Your support will help us construct water wells, sand dams,

and earth dams that will supply sustainable, clean water to our communities and uplift

their overall well-being.

About the Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis and Kitui, Kenya Partnership:

The Diocese of Kitui is a large, growing, vibrant Church. It began with four parishes and less

than 2,000 Catholics in 1956 and has since grown to include more than 30 parishes with about

250,000 baptized Catholics. It is a leader in providing charitable services for all those who live in

its boundaries: many of the region’s hospitals are Catholic and the diocese provides water and

food relief in times of economic hardship and famine.

Our solidarity partnership with the Diocese of Kitui began in 2004 as both dioceses responded to

God’s call to enter into a relationship based in mutuality and recognition of our communion in

the Body of Christ. Through our encounter with one another, the partnership allows our two

Catholic communities to bear witness to Christ and help build the Kingdom of God through the

strengthening of faith, building relationships and sharing resources.

Since the inception of the partnership, Catholics in Kitui and Saint Paul and Minneapolis have

prayed for one another, celebrated Mass together, shared the gifts we have each been given to

strengthen the Church, and spent time in each other’s homes getting to know and learning from

one another. Delegates who have traveled to Kitui have been blessed to experience liturgies

filled with dancing and song, the strength of the local small Christian communities, and

incredibly warm hospitality.

Early on in our partnership, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of

Kitui mutually agreed to work together to help address another challenge facing parts of Kitui:

access to clean water. Located in a semi-arid zone south of the equator and Sahara Desert,

rainfall in the Diocese of Kitui can be unpredictable. Some residents routinely walk miles to the

nearest water access point to draw water for cooking, cleaning, drinking and bathing. Many of

these water access points are shared by humans, livestock, and wild animals. In times of drought, food security can also become a concern.

Through the incredible generosity of the people in this Archdiocese, the partnership has raised

hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last 15 years, enabling our brothers and sisters in Kitui to build dams or purchase large water tanks to store rainfall, and provide emergency food relief

when there wasn’t enough rain to support crops. Money raised this year will be used to continue

funding increased access to clean water, sanitation improvement, hygiene education, and to

support the general and administrative work of the partnership.