Huddled in a corner of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Angele Percenita struggled to contain her tears, overwhelmed to be marking Good Friday in Jerusalem’s Old City after last year’s lockdown.

Percenita, a Filipina caregiver in Israel who said she has been fully inoculated against coronavirus, was one of hundreds of faithful who visited Christianity’s holiest site on the day.

“It’s so, so much better than last year,” she told AFP.

Usually thousands mark Good Friday with a procession tracing the 14 Stations of the Cross, the route Christians believe Jesus walked while carrying his cross before being crucified.

Last year, as the pandemic was intensifying and with Jerusalem in its first of three coronavirus lockdowns, only four faithful retraced Christ’s footsteps along the Old City’s narrow cobbled streets.

Last year was also the first time the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — the site of Christ’s crucifixion and burial, according to tradition — had been closed for Easter in at least a century.

Israel — which annexed east Jerusalem including the Old City in 1967 — has vaccinated more than half of its 9.3 million residents, allowing the reopening of most major sites.

Lina Sleibi, a Palestinian Christian, recalled watching Easter mass online in 2020.

“Last year it was very hard. We felt like the city was dead,” said the 28-year-old who sings at church services in the West Bank holy city of Bethlehem nearby.

Now, “you feel alive again,” she said.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the final stop on the Stations of the Cross.

Hundreds of faithful, led by religious leaders bearing a cross, wound towards the church along the Via Dolorosa (Path of Sorrow) that snakes through the Old City.

While the modest crowd marked a step towards normalcy, the turnout was still minimal compared to the thousands that typically flock to Jerusalem during Easter.

– Small crowds –

In 2019, 25,000 people gathered in the city for Palm Sunday, according to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Angleena Keizer, a minister with the Church of Scotland, told AFP it felt “special” to be marking one of Christianity’s most important days at its holiest site without crowds of tourists.

“It’s nice to walk down the street when it’s not packed with tourists.

“But, on the other hand, we would prefer for them to be here because of the economy and for people to be able to experience Easter on the Holy Land from around the world.”

Despite Israel’s reopening, tourists are still broadly barred from entering the country.

Bader Rabadi, a Palestinian tour guide, said it was “painful (and) frustrating” to watch mass online last year, in contrast to this year’s feeling of “celebration”.

But something is still missing, he said, voicing hope that next year Christians from around the world will again be able to mark Easter in the Holy City.

“Jerusalem is not ours. It’s for everyone,” he said.

Source: AFP

The death has occurred, after a brief illness, of the Vicar for clergy in the Bamenda Archdiocese, Rev Fr. Patrick Nyuydini Lafon, who also moonlighted as lecturer at the Catholic University of Bamenda.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea expressed his sympathy to the family and friends of the Vicar and said priests of the metropolitan Archdiocese were saddened by the news of his passing as he held, over many years, several roles of leadership and responsibility in the Archdiocese of Bamenda and nationally.

Fr. Patrick Lafon was ordained a priest 43 yrs ago and was among the last outstanding academic batch of Cameroonian priests trained in Bigard seminary that celebrated their forty years in priesthood in 2017.

Cameroon Concord News Group understands that his final alumni celebration included Fr John Bosco Ambe, Fr William Neba, Fr Polycarp Fonjock (RIP) and Fr Martin Kima.

Fr. Lafon was National Catholic Education Secretary, and Secretary General of the National Episcopal Conference.

He spent 15 years in the nation’s capital and facilitated the growth and solid establishment of the English speaking Catholic Communities in Yaoundé from Etougebe to Nsimeyong.

He mastered the modus operandi of the Cameroon Catholic Church hierarchy, and gained a reputation for speaking truth to power, in very difficult times such as the tragic death of Fr Patrick Adeso at the Catholic University, unexplained till date.

At the end of his tenure in French Cameroun, Fr. Lafon pursued a doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, CUA (Washington DC) in Metaphysics under the direct supervision of renowned John Wippel, a leading scholar on Thomistic Metaphysics, and wrote a thesis on “Virtue in Politics” according to Yves Simon.

Upon return he was made principal of St Paul’s College, Nkwen, and lecturer in Metaphysics & Epistemology at  STAMS Bambui. When the Catholic University in Bamenda opened the Department of Philosophy, he became a part of the CATUC family and rose to the rank of Dean of Faculty replacing Prof Paul Nkwi.

Fr. Lafon’s last public appearance was his coordination of the encounter between the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Palorin with the clergy of the Archdiocese of Bamenda. He was frank, candid and he provided a thoughtful key to understanding the Southern Cameroons Crisis.

He will be greatly missed by his students at St John Paul II Major Seminary, Bachuo Ntai in Manyu Division, where he lectured Metaphysics & Epistemology and also those of CATUC, where he recently launched the Doctoral Program in Philosophy.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Pope Francis appointed Mgsr. Jerome Feudjio on Tuesday to lead the Diocese of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Originally from Cameroon, Feudjio has served as a priest of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ diocese for more than 30 years.

Commenting on Feudjio’s March 2 appointment, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the apostolic administrator of St. Thomas diocese, said: “Bishop-Elect Jerome is no stranger to the people of the diocese. His long history of service and pastoral dedication to the people of this community of faith are well known and widely respected,”

Feudjio, 65, currently serves as the vicar general of the Diocese of St. Thomas and rector of its Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

The Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands was established in 1977 and is the sole suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Washington. The diocese is made up of 30,000 Catholics across the islands of St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and Water Island.

Feudjio first arrived in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1988 after Cardinal Seán O’Malley, who at the time was a coadjutor bishop of St. Thomas, invited him to work as a campus minister in the Saints Peter and Paul School.

Two years later, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of St. Thomas and appointed as parochial vicar of the cathedral. He taught French and religion at the Catholic school and went on to serve in multiple positions within the diocese, including as director of vocations, finance officer, administrator, and chancellor.

Born in Cameroon in 1955, Feudjio entered religious life at the age of 17 as a postulant for the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Heart (SCJ). He attended their Saint Apostles Seminary in Otele, Cameroon, from 1972 to 1975, as well as the major seminary in the capital city of Yaoundé from 1975 to 1979.

While still in formation in 1980, Feudjio traveled to the United States, where he met the then Fr. Seán O’Malley, who invited him to stay and study in Washington, D.C.

Feudjio completed his studies in philosophy and theology in the Archdiocese of Washington at Oblate College, and in 1987 joined the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, making a temporary religious profession.

During his time in the U.S., Feudjio completed a graduate program at Southern Illinois University in the Administration of Justice Program, through which he interned at a local transitional house that helped former inmates readjust to society.

In 2004, Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., who served as bishop of St. Thomas from 1999 to 2007, asked Feudjio to return to Southern Illinois University to pursue further graduate studies in Rehabilitation Administration.

Feudjio has served as rector of the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2008.

As bishop of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Feudjio will succeed Bishop Herbert Bevard, who retired in September after he was hospitalized and airlifted to the U.S. mainland for medical treatment.

“Regrettably, I have experienced some new and unanticipated medical conditions that unfortunately preclude my ability to continue to maintain my position in the Diocese of St. Thomas,” Bevard wrote in a letter to the diocese on Sept. 18.

“I have loved serving the People of God; the clergy, religious, laity, and the entire Virgin Islands community in the Diocese of St. Thomas and will treasure the fond memories that we share together. It is this same love and concern for them, recognizing my own limitations, that now compel me to make this request,” he said.

Bevard, 75, has remained in North Carolina for ongoing medical treatment. He led the Diocese of St. Thomas for 12 years.

Pope Francis appointed the then Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington to serve as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of St. Thomas until the new bishop is installed.

“I readily join the clergy, religious, and faithful of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands today in warmly welcoming Pope Francis’ appointment of Msgr. Jerome Feudjio as the sixth Bishop of this local Church,” Cardinal Gregory said.

“He now begins a new chapter in his own life and in all of your lives as well. Please keep him in your prayers as he transitions into his new office as I am certain he will hold all of you securely in his daily prayers from this day forward.”

Source: Angelusnews

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin expresses Pope Francis’ closeness and concern for Cameroon and the African continent, in his homily during the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda.

“The Pope is well aware of the difficulties that you have experienced in recent years and which you are still experiencing. He implores the Lord’s consolation for you, especially for those who have been victims of violence or who, in this crisis, have lost friends and loved ones.”

Those were the words delivered by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in his homily at Mass in Bamenda for the imposition of the pallium on Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya.

He expressed Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Cameroon, as well as to the entire African continent.

The Pope, added the Cardinal, “joins in the desire for peace and reconciliation that rises from this beloved and wonderful land toward God.”

Reconciliation, compassion, hospitality

Cardinal Parolin arrived in Cameroon last Thursday accompanied by Monsignor Ivan Santus, an official with the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

His visit is meant to be a concrete sign of the Pope’s commitment and solidarity, and a call to promote compassion, reconciliation, and healing, especially in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 humanitarian emergency.

In communion with the Pope

“The Pallium,” explained Cardinal Parolin in Bamenda Cathedral, “is a symbol of a special bond of communion with the Pope. It is woven from the wool of lambs blessed by him on the feast of St. Agnes, and evokes the figure of the Good Shepherd, who goes in search of the lost sheep and places it on His shoulders. It represents the power that the Archbishop exercises in his Diocese, in communion with the Supreme Pontiff. It is a sign rich in meaning, which powerfully inaugurates the mandate of every new Archbishop: his new ministry is placed from the beginning under the sign of communion, in obedience and union with the Holy Father and in communion with his brother Bishops.”

With the Gospel in his pocket

“While many voices resound around us; while so many want to act as teachers in our lives,” the Cardinal stressed, we need to give “unique weight to the Word of Christ.”

“For this reason,” he added, “the Pope, on several occasions, has invited us to carry a small book of the Gospels with us. ‘The Gospel in your pocket’ is not a slogan but a spiritual program.”

The effectiveness of the Word

“Jesus desires good for humanity, and therefore frees us from Evil,” said Cardinal Parolin. “Jesus is able to completely free us precisely through His simple and powerful Word: Come out of him! There are no magic formulas; not even strange gestures: it is His Word that is exceedingly effective.”

The Secretary of State underlined that “Evil exists and Christ is able to defeat it. It is up to us to carry on this battle every day.”

Serenity and vigilance

Cardinal Parolin then evoked the teaching of the Apostle Paul, indicating two important themes that must mark each person’s spiritual journey: serenity and vigilance.

“Serenity: because with Christ we are victorious, in our adherence to Him through prayer and the Sacramental life. Vigilance: so that we can discern Evil where it lurks, beginning with our own hearts.”

Seed of hope

Cardinal Parolin then urged the faithful of Cameroon to combat the violence, divisions and fratricidal struggles that afflict the nation.

“He who fights against the evil that dwells in his heart becomes a bearer of good and peace in his family, among his friends, in his community. He thus becomes a seed of hope for all.”

Avoiding the risk of spiritual pride

The Vatican Secretary of State concluded his homily by recalling that after two thousand years, amazement before the Lord Jesus is a precious attitude to be guarded with care.

“We should never stop reflecting on this Mystery, so that we avoid the risk of spiritual pride, of those who are convinced that they already know everything about Jesus, without realizing that He is always greater than we can humanly comprehend. We should never cease to marvel before the fundamental Mystery of our Christian faith: that of the Son of God who became man to set us free.”

The Mass in the Cathedral of Bamenda was attended by a large number of the faithful, offering a sign of affection for Archbishop Fuanya and of joyful communion with the Pope who was represented by his Secretary of State.

Source: Vatican News

The Vatican’s Secretary of State kicked off a week-long trip to Cameroon on Thursday in which he will visit a region blighted by clashes between government forces and separatists.

During his visit from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, Cardinal Pietro Parolin is scheduled to meet with the local authorities and Cameroon’s Catholic bishops in the country’s capital, Yaoundé, and visit the English-speaking Northwest Region.

Local media in Cameroon have reported that the cardinal will likely use his visit to work towards the resolution of the dispute known as the Anglophone crisis.

Both the Holy See and the local Church have appealed for dialogue to end the strife. One of the Catholic leaders who has played an active role in seeking a resolution is Cardinal Christian Tumi, who was kidnapped by gunmen in Cameroon’s Northwest Region on Nov. 5.

A video published on social media showed the 90-year-old cardinal calmly responding as one of his captors confronted him about his calls for separatist fighters in Cameroon to lay down their arms. To this, the cardinal responded: “I will preach what is the truth with pastoral conviction and biblical conviction.”

“Nobody has the right to tell me to preach the contrary because I was called by God,” Cardinal Tumi said. He was released by his kidnappers on Nov. 6.

The crisis in Cameroon is rooted in country’s colonial history. The area was a German colony in the late 19th century, but the territory was divided into British and French mandates after the German Empire’s defeat in World War I. The mandates were united in an independent Cameroon in 1961, but English-speakers have complained ever since of marginalization by the French-speaking majority.

There is now a separatist movement in the Southwest and Northwest Regions, which were formerly the British Cameroons. Violence escalated in October when gunmen attacked Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy, a school in Kumba in Cameroon’s Southwest region, on Oct. 24 and opened fire on students in a classroom. Seven students aged 12 to 14 were killed.

Pope Francis prayed on Oct. 28 that “the tormented regions of the northwest and southwest of [Cameroon] may finally find peace.”

In Cameroon’s Northwest Region, Parolin will offer Mass on Jan. 31 at the Catholic cathedral in Bamenda, where he will give the pallium to Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya.

Nkea, 55, was appointed archbishop of Bamenda in December 2019. He is known for his emphasis on family, community, and traditional values.

At the 2018 meeting of the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith, and vocational discernment, Nkea, who was the bishop of Mamfe at the time, said that the Church in Cameroon and many parts of Africa was growing — including among young people.

“My churches are all bursting, and I don’t have space to keep the young people,” Nkea said during a Vatican press conference in Oct. 2018. “And my shortest Mass would be about two and a half hours.”

A 2018 study by the Pew Research Center found that church attendance and prayer frequency was highest in sub-Saharan Africa and lowest in Western Europe. Four out of five Christians in Cameroon said that they prayed every day.

During the synod on young people, Nkea credited the Church’s growth in Cameroon to the alignment between Church teaching and the values of Cameroonian society, and the strength of the family as a cultural institution.

“People ask me, ‘Why are your churches full?’” Nkea said in 2018. “Coming from Africa, the family is a very, very strong institution.”

“We come from a culture in which tradition normally is handed from one generation to the other.”

“Our traditional values still equate to the values of the Church, and so we hand over the tradition to our young people undiluted and uncontaminated,” he continued, noting that a strong sense of community in the Church is something “very important that Europe can learn from Africa.”

Source: The Catholic News Agency

Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met the Cameroonian dictator President Paul BIYA at the so-called Unity Palace today 29 January 2021.

Local media reported that the cardinal was bearer of a message of reconciliation and peace for the people of Cameroon from the Holy Father Pope Francis.

Cardinal Parolin told state radio and television that “I am here to manifest the attention and solidarity of Pope Francis towards Cameroon.”

The top official of the Holy See said they cordially discussed on a wide range of issues including the socio-political situation in Southern Cameroons.

The Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin is in Cameroon for a six-day working visit. He will celebrate the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Bamenda, during which he will impose the pallium on the Archbishop of the Diocese, Andrew Nkea Fuanya. He will equally visit the “Household of Hope” centre for street children and young prisoners in Yaounde.

The Vatican Secretary of State is visiting Cameroon until 3 February, during which he will meet with government leaders, celebrate Mass in Bamenda Cathedral to present the pallium to Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea, and visit the Household of Hope in Yaoundé.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin arrives in Cameroon Thursday, 28 January, and his visit lasts until 3 February.

He is accompanied by Msgr. Ivan Santus, an official with the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State.

Sign of Pope’s care and concern

The visit is meant to show—once again and in the context of the current humanitarian emergency caused by the pandemic—the attention of the Church and Pope Francis for the African continent, a land rich in humanity but marked by great suffering.

It is also intended as a concrete sign of “common, supportive, and inclusive commitment to protecting and promoting the dignity and good of all, a willingness to show care and compassion, to work for reconciliation and healing, and to advance mutual respect and acceptance.”

The Pope called for this expression of concern in his message for the 54th World Day of Peace, celebrated on 1 January 2021, which was entitled: “A culture of care as a path to peace”.

Civil and Church appointments

Meetings with the country’s authorities are planned, as well as various religious appointments.

Cardinal Parolin will celebrate the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Bamenda, during which he will impose the pallium on the Archbishop of the Diocese, Andrew Nkea Fuanya.

The Vatican Secretary of State will also visit the “Household of Hope” in Yaoundé.

The center was founded 40 years ago by Jesuit Father Yves Lescanne to provide assistance for street children and young prisoners.

Source: The Vatican News

Bishop Robert Deeley has announced that Fr. Roland Berngeh will serve as parochial vicar at Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord Holy Redeemer Church, Bar Harbor; St. Peter Church, Manset; St. Ignatius Church, Northeast Harbor; Stella Maris Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Bucksport; Our Lady of Holy Hope Church, Castine; St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Stonington, St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph Church, Ellsworth; Blue Hill Mission, Blue Hill; Our Lady of the Lake Mission, Green Lake; and St. Margaret Chapel, Winter Harbor, effective immediately.

A native of Jakiri, Cameroon, Fr. Berngeh attended St. Augustine’s College Nso in Kumbo, Cameroon, and Bishop Rogan College in Small Soppo-Buea, Cameroon. He completed his clerical studies at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui, Cameroon, and was ordained to the priesthood on April 10, 1985.

Since his ordination, Fr. Berngeh served in Cameroon parishes for eight years before being appointed the pioneer rector and principal at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitiwum in Kumbo in 1993. He served at the seminary for 13 years before becoming the rector of the Cathedral Church of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Kumbo.  In 2007, Fr. Berngeh was named principal at his alma mater, St. Augustine’s College Nso, where he served until 2012 when he was appointed rector of Immaculate Conception Parish, also in Kumbo. For the last six years, Fr. Berngeh has served at the cathedral in Kumbo. In addition to those assignments, he has served as a vocations director, diocesan and national chaplain, member of the presbyteral council and as vicar general.

Fr. Berngeh holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a diploma in philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. He also earned a master’s degree in educational counseling from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif., where he studied from 1997-2000.

Source: mdislander.com

In Cameroon, thousands of Muslims are joining Christians in churches all over the country in Christmas prayers for peace in 2021. For the annual tradition this year, the Inter-Denominational Prayer for Peace group focused on Cameroon’s troubled western regions and COVID-19.

Muslims in Cameroon joined together with Christians Friday to celebrate Christmas and offer an annual prayer for peace. 

Cheikh Oumarou Mallam is president of the Islamic Superior Council of Cameroon and a member of the Inter-Denominational Prayer for Peace group.

This year, he says, they prayed for an end to COVID-19 and peace on the border with Nigeria, where security forces have been battling the Islamist militant group Boko Haram for close to 10 years. 

Mallam says they prayed especially for an end to the separatist conflict in Cameroon’s western regions, which has left more than 3,000 people dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. 

“Be loyal to your country,” Mallam said. “Compete for goodness through social work and community service to enhance people’s lives and improve the progress of the society.  Let us be united building our nation.  Let us be united for peace, safety, security, unity, reconciliation and prosperity.”

Anglophone rebels have been fighting in the western regions since 2016 to carve out an independent state from Cameroon’s French-speaking majority. 

The separatists have destroyed symbols of the state, such as schools and bridges, as well as mosques and churches. 

Reverend Father Humphrey Tatah Mbui is director of communications at the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon’s Catholic Bishops.

He spoke by telephone from the northwestern town of Bamenda, the capital of the troubled region.

“If there is any Cameroonian who has not learnt from the 4-year war{separatist crisis} that might, force, violence does not, will not, cannot and should not be able to solve the problem, then I wonder if that person will ever learn,” Mbui said. “What is going on is horrendous and therefore justice and peace should be the message that all of us should talk about.  We have everything to gain in peace than in war.”

Christmas songs play on the speakers at the Our Lady of Victories Metropolitan Cathedral in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.

Far from the separatist conflict, the focus is on another battle – to defeat COVID-19. 

Cameroon instructed churches to guard against the spread of COVID-19 during Christmas day activities.

To fight the spread of the virus, Cameroon’s churches are holding multiple Christmas day services.

Church usher Christian Olinga says they are also limiting access to the cathedral.

He says the catholic church asked him to make sure the government’s instructions are respected – no one will be granted access to the cathedral without a face mask.  Olinga says worshipers and guests must sit two meters from each other and there are enough hand washing basins and sanitizers in the church.

Cameroon has confirmed nearly 26,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 400 deaths since the first case in March. 

A surge of more than 2,000 new infections this month raised concern that holiday gatherings could see numbers increase further.   Meanwhile, Cameroon’s Muslims and Christians are praying for a healthy and peaceful new year. 

Source: VOA