Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province challenged to renew missionary zeal ⁰

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of the Catholic Diocese of Buea has urged the people of God in the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province (BAPEC) to rekindle their missionary zeal as the province marks the 25th anniversary of its Provincial Pastoral Plan, a roadmap adopted in 2000 to guide evangelization, catechesis, and development efforts across the province’s five Dioceses.

In his homily during the Thursday, July 24 anniversary celebration, Bishop Bibi called on pastoral agents to recommit themselves to the vision of the pastoral plan, which he described as “a prophetic document” and a “powerful tool for evangelization.”

“As we celebrate 25 years of the Bamenda Provincial Pastoral Plan, we are invited to renew our zeal for evangelization and missionary work,” the Cameroonian Catholic Bishop said during the celebration that was held at Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary of Buea Diocese.

He added, “Let us not treat this celebration as a mere ritual or historical marker. It must be a call to action.”

Bishop Bibi, who chairs the BAPEC Commission for the pastoral plan, said the 2025 Silver Jubilee year is “an opportune time to reawaken our commitment to what this Plan truly stands for – building a vibrant, participatory, and missionary Church in our province.”

“We cannot afford to be passive. Our people, especially the young, must own this vision. The Plan was never meant to gather dust in archives; it was meant to guide how we live our faith daily,” the Catholic Church leader said.

He noted that while progress had been made over the past 25 years, some Dioceses had “excluded themselves technically” from fully participating in the newly elected Provincial Pastoral Council.

“I don’t know whether some members did not want to take their responsibility or just wanted to be out of it completely,” he said.

Reflecting on the multi-year Synod on Synodality that was concluded on 27 October 2024 in Rome, Bishop Bibi praised the Bamenda province for being ahead of the curve.

“While others are discussing how to implement synodality, we’ve already lived it for 25 years. That should encourage us to keep working hard,” he said.

He added, “The Church teaches in paragraph 873 of the Catechism that there is diversity of ministries, but only one mission. That mission is the work of evangelization — and our plan is our roadmap.”

Bishop Bibi called on pastoral agents to explore the pastoral plan documents anew and to continue forming agents of evangelization capable of catechizing and uniting communities.

“Yes, we are celebrating 25 years. But this is not the end. May God continue to give us the grace to remain true to the content of this plan in season and out of season,” he implored.

The Bamenda Provincial Pastoral Plan, adopted in 2000 after a synodal process involving clergy, religious, and laity from the dioceses of Bamenda, Buea, Kumbo, Mamfe, and Kumba, laid out a 25-year vision rooted in Small Christian Communities, deep catechesis, justice and peace, and holistic human development.

Source: aciafrica