The Catholic Diocese of Marsabit was established in November 1964 through the efforts of Bishop Charles Cavallera (Bishop of the Diocese of Marsabit 1964-81). The jurisdiction previously covered the two Counties of Northern Kenya namely: Marsabit and Samburu. In 1981 the Diocese got a new Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Ambrose Ravasi who was in charge of the Diocese until 2006. Rt. Rev. Peter Kihara Kariuki the current Bishop was installed as the third Bishop of the Diocese in January 2007.
The Diocese covers the entire Marsabit County, which is the second largest in Kenya after Turkana and covers an area of 70,961.2 sq. kms. Marsabit is classified as 100% Arid and Semi-Arid Land (ASAL). According to the 2019 census, the county has a population of 459,785. It has 17 Parishes served by clergy from different congregations and nationalities. The county is mainly inhabited by pastoralist communities with a mix of indigenous ethnic and sub-ethnic communities who profess Christianity, Islam and African traditional religions.
The Catholic Diocese of Marsabitโs development agency โ Caritas Marsabit is a committed Faith Based Organization that supports integral human development of the pastoralistsโ communities in Marsabit County. The function of Caritas Marsabit aligns itself to the objectives of pastoral department of the diocese, whose main function is evangelization. The organization mission is to empower the people to know God and live in dignity and harmony. It envisions a people holistically empowered in line with the gospel values. In her programs Caritas Marsabit aims to facilitate, network, and empower the target communities through need based multi-sectoral programs built on positive cultural and modern practices that utilize available local resources and modern technology.
Our target groups are largely pastoralists and agro-pastoralists who rely on agriculture which is a highly climate sensitive sector. As such, the goal of promoting adaptation, mitigation and poverty reduction is core in our program designs. The organization adopts the Kenya National Adaptation Plan (2015-2030) recommendation of mainstreaming climate change adaptation in all sectors.