PROTECTING HIS FLOCK

Gilbert Kimaro, who once killed a cheetah menacing his livestock, ready to be ordained a deacon

Gilbert Kimaro said of his fellow Diocese of Albany seminarians: “One thing I can say that is unique about the Diocese of Albany is we seminarians love each other.” (Photo provided)

Jesus commanded that a good shepherd should lay down his life for his sheep. Gilbert Kimaro is a testament to that statement, and if you ask me, he gets extra points for dealing with a cheetah. 

“I tell people this story, which they never believe,” he laughed. “I killed a cheetah once that went to grab one of my livestock.”

Kimaro, 29, who grew up in the Olkereyen Village in the Arusha region of Tanzania, was watching his animals graze when he noticed the approaching predator. He quickly stepped into action. 

“You take a lot of pride in keeping your livestock safe, and when the cheetah jumped, I had a spear, so I killed it in the air,” he said.

The only thing more amazing than a seminarian spearing a cheetah is how nonchalant his village was about it.

“In my tribe, killing a lion is actually a big deal, because that’s connected with status and symbol,” Kimaro said. “But that’s one of those stories I’ll get to tell about living in a part of Africa.”

Now, nearly 10,000 miles west of his home village, Kimaro resides at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, just next to Lake Michigan. He wrapped up his third year in Configuration III in the seminary and is back in the Albany Diocese to take his next step in formation 

On Saturday, May 16, Kimaro will be ordained a deacon on his path to the priesthood at the Mass of Ordination to the Presbyterate and Diaconate at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Kimaro told The Evangelist. 

After ordination, he will remain in Albany for the summer to study clinical pastoral education at Albany Medical Center. Kimaro, who worked as a physician in Tanzania, said the program is about more than how to be a deacon in a hospital setting; it’s about “how do you interact with the world of those who suffer.”

“They won’t necessarily be Catholic patients only, but anyone who is in that hospital and in need of spiritual care,” he said. “It’s an integral part of human life, and how will I approach that. I’m looking forward to learning that.”

The eldest of three boys, Kimaro was raised in a Catholic family where attending Mass, praying the rosary and being active in church was a foundational part of family life, even if — much like for any kid — it was hard at times. 

“All the days I had to wake up and attend a daily Mass, it was like, even a daily Mass, for real?” he laughed. 

It was when Kimaro started altar serving at the age of 10 that he noticed a calling to the priesthood: “Seeing the priest elevating the chalice, elevating our sacred host after saying the words, ‘This is my body, this is my blood,’ I felt moved inside me,” he said.

The thought stuck with him, but he put it off for a few years, still wanting to pursue a career in medicine. After graduating from high school (called secondary school in Tanzania), Kimaro earned his undergraduate degree in clinical medicine from K’s Royal College of Health Sciences and worked as a physician in the region for a few months.

Still, the priesthood was on his mind. While in medical school, Kimaro started looking up information on pursuing a vocation. One of the first videos that popped up was of Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger (now Bishop Emeritus) on becoming a diocesan priest. 

“I was drawn to that,” he said. 

Kimaro entered Albany’s St. Isaac Jogues House of Formation in 2020. He served at several parishes in the area while studying health and occupational sciences at Maria College and obtained his master’s in Catholic philosophy at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry. In 2023, he entered St. Francis de Sales Seminary.

At first, adjusting to a new culture “wasn’t without its challenges,” he said. There was learning “American English” instead of the “British English” he was accustomed to, adjusting to a variety of cultural differences, and, of course, the weather. 

When Kimaro first landed in New York on a blustery December day, an immigration officer at JFK Airport asked him where his jacket was. 

“I said I have one, and he said, ‘Would you like (another) one, because it’s going to be very cold outside,’ ” Kimaro said. “I thought what I was wearing was a jacket! I didn’t think I had to put on five, 10 pounds of clothes.”

It was the people, both at St. Isaac Jogues and in seminary in Wisconsin, who helped make his new country feel like a home. 

“One thing I can say that is unique about the Diocese of Albany is we seminarians love each other and like each other,” Kimaro said. “When you look at us, we’re like kids, we tease each other, we are guys … and we (can) be vulnerable to each other. 

“Because as God himself is a trinity of three persons, he doesn’t hide from each other; he desires us to be in community, that’s why we have a church. But also being with my brothers, I can call one of them right now and be like I can talk to you about how crazy this day has been, and he will be there, and he will listen.”