Kenyan humanitarian leader Lucy Afandi Esipila has been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as a Consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, placing her among a select group of experts advising the Holy See on global development and humanitarian challenges.
The appointment, announced on August 18, 2026, gives Esipila a five-year mandate beginning September 1. She is one of 12 experts appointed to provide specialist perspectives to the Vatican dicastery, which deals with some of the world’s most pressing social and economic challenges.
Esipila currently serves as Regional Executive Secretary of Caritas Africa, the continental network of Catholic humanitarian and development organisations. She was elected to the position in Rome in May 2023, becoming the first woman and youngest person to lead the organisation.
From the Caritas Africa secretariat in Lomé, Togo, she oversees a network operating across 46 African countries.
A Strategic Vatican Appointment
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development is responsible for issues including poverty, migration, healthcare, humanitarian assistance, climate action, economic inequality and other matters affecting human dignity.
As a Consultor, Esipila will bring professional expertise and regional insight to the dicastery’s deliberations. The position is advisory rather than executive, but it provides a direct channel for specialist perspectives into one of the Vatican’s key departments.
Her appointment alongside Ugandan theologian Fr Emmanuel Katongole and Burkina Faso’s Dr Omer S. Combary also gives Africa a stronger presence within the group of experts supporting the dicastery.
For Kenya, the appointment represents an elevation of one of its development and humanitarian professionals to an international policy platform where issues facing vulnerable communities are considered at the global level.
From Northern Kenya To Global Humanitarian Policy
Esipila’s career has been shaped by her early work among pastoralist communities in northern Kenya.
A graduate of Moi University, she initially trained in Communication and Public Relations before beginning her career at a diocesan radio station in Maralal, Samburu County.
She subsequently spent about six years working with pastoralist communities, gaining firsthand experience of the challenges created by climate change, competition over water and pasture and other pressures affecting rural livelihoods.
That experience became an important foundation for her subsequent work in humanitarian assistance and development policy.
At Caritas Africa, she has advocated for approaches that give local organisations and communities a greater role in designing and implementing humanitarian responses.
Her work has focused on strengthening locally led action, improving access to humanitarian financing, building climate resilience and supporting sustainable development across Africa.
Why The Appointment Matters
The Vatican’s decision comes as humanitarian systems face increasing pressure from climate-related disasters, displacement, poverty and unequal access to healthcare and essential services.
Africa remains particularly exposed to many of these challenges, making local expertise increasingly important to international humanitarian policy.
Esipila’s experience spans community-level development work, continental humanitarian coordination and public policy. Her new role gives her an opportunity to bring those perspectives into Vatican discussions on integral human development.
The appointment also reinforces the Catholic Church’s longstanding emphasis on human dignity and the needs of communities affected by poverty, conflict, migration and environmental degradation.
A New Dimension In Kenya-Vatican Relations
Esipila’s appointment comes as Kenya’s diplomatic relationship with the Holy See enters a new phase.
In July 2026, Kenya announced plans to establish its first resident diplomatic mission to the Holy See, with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi announcing plans to deploy the country’s inaugural resident ambassador to the Vatican.
The diplomatic development and Esipila’s appointment create two separate but significant Kenyan links with the Holy See at a time when Nairobi is seeking deeper engagement with international institutions.
For Esipila, however, the new Vatican position builds directly on a career centred on Africa’s most vulnerable communities.
Her five-year term will begin on September 1, when she formally joins the group of experts advising the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
