St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Parish – Muyeye stands within a story of faith, mission, and steady growth in the Diocese of Malindi. Officially erected on 3 June 2018 as the 21st parish of the Catholic Diocese of Malindi, the parish was established to respond to the pastoral needs of a growing community in the Muyeye area, on the southern outskirts of Malindi town.
Before becoming a parish, the Catholic community in Muyeye was served as an outstation of St. Francis Xavier Parish. As the area continued to grow, the need for a stronger and more permanent pastoral presence became clear. In response to this need, the Diocese entrusted the new mission to the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), giving the parish a distinctive Ignatian and missionary character from its very beginning.
In late 2017, the Jesuits returned to Malindi at the invitation of the local bishop to begin this new mission. The first priests to serve the community were Fr. Protus Opondo, SJ and Fr. Atakelt Tesfaye, SJ, who began pastoral ministry among the people of Muyeye even before the parish was formally erected. In its earliest days, the community gathered in simple structures for worship as parish life gradually took root.
On the day of its official erection, St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church, Muyeye, was formally declared a parish and entrusted to Jesuit pastoral care. The parish was placed under the patronage of St. Charles Lwanga, whose witness of courage, youthful faith, and fidelity to Christ continues to inspire the identity and mission of this community.
Our heritage is also linked to the deeper Christian and Jesuit history of Malindi. The parish sources recall that St. Francis Xavier, one of the earliest Jesuit missionaries, passed through Malindi in 1542 and prayed at what is now known as the Portuguese Chapel. In this sense, the Jesuit presence in Muyeye is part of a much older missionary history now renewed in our own time.
Today, St. Charles Lwanga Parish continues to build on this foundation of faith. Rooted in Catholic tradition and shaped by Jesuit spirituality, the parish seeks to remain a welcoming community of prayer, service, evangelization, and hope. Its history is not only a record of the past, but also a reminder of the mission that continues in the present.