Top Catholic Bishop Rt. Rev. Emanuel Barbara of Malindi is dead.
The Bishop who is the head of the Malindi Catholic Diocese passed way on Friday morning.
"We are shocked to inform you of the sudden death of our dearly beloved Bishop Rt. Rev. Emanuel Barbara of Malindi Catholic Diocese who passed on this morning. Let's pray for his soul," read the message from the Bishop's office in Malindi.
The late Bishop was born on October 27, 1949, in the parish of Gzira, in the Archdiocese of Malta.
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He joined the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and took his solemn profession on 26 September 1966.
In 1973 he was ordained to the diaconate and a year later on July 20 he was ordained as a priest.
Until 2008 he served as a priest in the Diocese of Malindi.
He also served as Provincial Minister of the Maltese Capuchin Province.
In 2011 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of Malindi in Kenya and on October 1 2011, was consecrated by Cardinal John Njue.
On 1 November 2013 Barbara was appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Mombasa after the seat fell vacant because of the resignation of Archbishop Boniface Lele.
Bishop Barbara's death comes barely two months after the death of Eldoret Catholic Bishop Cornelius Korir.