Baptisms, first Communions, confirmation and convalidation of a marriage.

All happened one day last August at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul among members of the Larry and Judith Ngonu family. The couple and their oldest of three sons, Joe Carlyn, are natives of Cameroon. They were strengthened by their faith in a long path to the United States and full communion with the Catholic Church.

The journey was made as a close, strong and persevering family, one that prays the rosary together every evening.

“You pray a rosary with all your heart, you will see like miracles,” Judith said. “The boys will remind me that it’s time to pray.”

A lottery win in 1999 enabled Larry, then a resident of Cameroon, to start a path to a new life. No, he didn’t win a large cash prize. He won the chance to move to the United States and pursue education and career opportunities. And raise a family.

Judith, who married Larry in a civil ceremony during a brief visit that he made to Cameroon after he emigrated, would say that her biggest “win” happened last summer, when the couple’s marriage was convalidated on the same day their three sons received sacraments including first Communion.

“That was my best day ever,” she said.

Larry won his immigration opportunity through the U.S.-sponsored Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Winning applicants’ names are drawn at random each year. After interviewing for the visa process, choosing a sponsor and waiting for paperwork to be processed, he moved to the U.S. in November 2000.

Jaden, left, and his brother Tyrick lead the procession at the start of Palm Sunday Mass March 28 at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

As children, Larry, 50, and Judith, 44, were baptized and received the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation in Cameroon, where Judith was also confirmed. Joe Carlyn, 15, was baptized in Cameroon. Larry said his home country has a lot of religions, but the Catholic faith is predominant.

It took about eight years of waiting and paperwork before Judith and Joe Carlyn could join Larry in the U.S. Their two youngest sons, Jaden, 11, and Tyrick, 8, were born in the U.S.

Larry first lived in Minnesota, where he trained to become a nursing assistant. He moved to Maryland, where he completed his education to become a nurse, and then back to Minnesota.

Living in Maplewood today, the family felt welcomed when they visited Blessed Sacrament. “People said ‘welcome, where are you from?’” Judith said, adding that it quickly felt like home.

All five attended the Rite of Initiation of Catholic Adults (and Children) at Blessed Sacrament starting in fall 2019 as they prepared to receive more sacraments.

Connie Hill, faith formation director at Blessed Sacrament, described the Ngonus as a fervent and faith-filled family that perseveres.

“It was so humbling and such an honor to work with them because they were so faithful and so committed to the many preparations,” she said. She noted “all the things that the boys did” to complete the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and prepare for their sacraments.

Because the COVID-19 pandemic canceled Easter Masses in 2020, the Ngonus were unable to receive sacraments at the Easter Vigil. But the pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Father Benny Mekkatt, a member of the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception who is known to parishioners as Father Benny, held a special Mass for the family and their guests last August, and administered sacraments.

Ngonu family members and friends from Maryland and Ohio attended the church service celebrating the convalidation of Judith and Larry’s marriage and to see Larry confirmed, the two younger boys baptized and all three boys receive their first Communion. “It was a beautiful celebration,” Father Benny said. “It was a great thing,” Larry added.

Judith said she felt a big change that day physically, spiritually and emotionally. “I was so happy standing in front of God, to watch all those things,” she said.

After the service and to help prevent spread of the novel coronavirus in the midst of the pandemic, the family and guests celebrated with a socially distanced barbecue in a local park.

Joe Carlyn will be confirmed in May. The other four family members usually attend his confirmation classes because they follow Sunday Mass and it’s a chance to learn more, Judith said.

The two youngest boys serve at Mass every other Sunday, and they assisted with Stations of the Cross during Lent. Larry said he served at Mass when he was younger; he and his wife explained to their children that it was a privilege to serve.

Coming all the way from Africa, the journey was not easy for the family, Father Benny said. “But they persevere with a strong faith and also to keep their faith strong and bring that beautiful tradition from back home and bring up the children in a strong faith,” he said.

Asked what it means to be Catholic, Larry said that with Christianity in general, it means feeling close to God. “It builds you up, it makes you stronger,” he said. “It gives you a moral compass. It helps you do the right thing.”

Judith described frequently praying to Mary and the saints, such as St. Jude when facing difficult situations, and praying the rosary together as a family each evening. Larry joins when he is not working.

“I think God is your companion, like my everything,” Judith said. “When I need something, I just go down on my knees. When I want to do anything, I’m like, please God, just show me the direction. And he always answers my prayers.”

Culled from The Catholic Spirit

Archbishop Andrew Nkea ordained seven new priests for the diocese of Mamfe this morning. This is the first ordination by a metropolitan Archbishop in the entire South West Region.

Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Mamfe, the chief town in Manyu reported that the areas of ministry entrusted to the new priests fall under three general headings, Altar, Word and Charity.

The new clerics will work in parish teams in the diocese of Mamfe. They will join deacons and lay parish pastoral workers in parishes.

“Today is a great day for the Diocese of Mamfe,” said Dr Andrew Nkea.

“It is a great day for this lively diocese, which sees seven of its sons called to the priesthood. This is a great day for the Presbyterium of Mamfe.”

The seven priests ordained are: Paul Ajong, John Etta, Carole Thcinda, Patrick Tabot, Niver Lengue, Peter Atem and Alfred Vetam.

In his homily, Archbishop Andrew Nkea said the priesthood is a gift from God through the bishop.

The hands of the priests will be laid on the candidates but the gesture will be meaningful if and only if those hands are united with the hands of the bishop who is the principal celebrant at every ordination ceremony.

This collaboration with the bishop is depicted at every ordination ceremony when the candidates on making the promise of obedience to the bishop. In the rite, it is only at the moment of the promise of obedience that the candidate kneels before the bishop surrenders his hands between those of the bishop who questions his obedience to him and his legitimate successor.

Such is a spiritual connection based on respect and obedience. Respect and obedience are priestly virtues which enables the bishop to do his duty in overseeing the afford of the diocese whereas obedience enables the priest to collaborate with the bishop in the same ministry.

Between the bishop and his priests, there exists a communio sacramentalis as quoted from Pastres Gregis.

Bishops ordain priests out of love and nothing else. It would therefore be a contradiction in terms for a priest to say his bishop does not love him. Every priest must be ready to see the love of God in his bishop. At no point should a priest think he is better than his bishop irrespective of the talents they display. Illustrating from the Gospel text, the Prelate identifies the strict obedience of the disciples who put out their nets without questioning.

Many young priests get into the priesthood with their own ambitions and if they don’t get them they threaten to leave the priesthood. A bishop can never satisfy all his priests.

Each diocesan Priest has as one of his duties the spiritual care of the presbyterate.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rev Father Eboka

Thousands of people are expected to take part in the Ruby Jubilee of the priestly ordination of the Bishop of the Kumbo Diocese Mgr. George Nkuo scheduled for Friday May 7, 2021 at the Kumbo Cathedral.

Every diocese in the English speaking regions and several parishes will be involved in some form of local pilgrimages as part of the major event organized by the church for the Jubilee.

The liturgy will be focused on our hope for the coming of Jesus Christ and the cry of John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord.

Major activities will be cancelled as parishes in the Kumbo Diocese joined forces to celebrate the life of a Good Shepherd.

Cameroon Concord News Group understands that the Bishop George Nkuo Ruby Jubilee is not just going to be a religious celebration but also a community event and in many parishes it will be ecumenical.

Concord Group Chairman Soter Agbaw-Ebai said it will be the most significant public celebration of a Man of God by the entire Christian community.

George Nkuo the founding father of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Federal Republic of Germany was born on the 28 January 1953 in Njinikom, Boyo Division in the Archdiocese of Bamenda – North West Region of Cameroon. He did his Secondary and high school education in Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary, Small Soppo, Buea, from 1967-1974 where he obtained the General Certificate of Education, Ordinary and Advanced Levels.

He was then admitted in the Regional Major Seminary, Bambui, where he studied for the priesthood from 1974-1981. He completed his priestly formation in philosophical and theological studies with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy in 1977 and a Bachelor Degree in Divinity in 1981 respectively.

He was ordained priest for the Diocese of Buea on the 26th of April 1981 at Small Soppo, Buea by the Right Reverend Pius Suh Awa, Bishop of Buea. He is of the second batch of priests trained in the present St. Thomas Aquinas’ Major Seminary, Bambui.

He did postgraduate studies in St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, National University of Ireland (1989-1991) where he specialized in Education and obtained a Master’s Degree in the Science of Education.

Bishop George is known for his time spent as the Curate and Manager of Catholic Schools in the St. Joseph’s Parish, Mamfe and Kumba Town. He was Chancellor for the Diocese of Buea and Principal of St. Francis’ College, Fiango, Kumba. Before coming to the Diocese of Kumbo he was Catholic Education Secretary for the Diocese of Buea From 1994 to 2006.

Previous assignments include Provincial Chairman of the Association of Diocesan Priests, Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province; National/Diocesan Chaplain of the Catholic Women’s Association. Bishop George was also Member of the Council of Cameroon General Certificate of Education Examination Supervisory Board, member of Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors of the Diocese of Buea.

He was ordained a bishop and installed as the second Bishop of the Diocese of Kumbo on September 8, 2006.

After his appointed as Bishop, he became Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for Education in the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CNEC) and in 2009; he became member of the Study Week of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences in Rome as well as member of the Permanent Committee of the Cameroon Episcopal Conference.

From the beginning of his episcopacy, Bishop George Nkuo expressed the hope that a Bishop’s responsibilities are first to the Diocese where he is ordained to oversee. This he makes visible in the way he is available to the Priests, Religious, Seminarians and Faithful in the Diocese of Kumbo. In his first meeting with his priests upon his appointment as Bishop of Kumbo, he insisted that the priests, his co-workers were to be seen as his main collaborators and emphasized on team work/collaborative ministry. Today, he recognizes the talents and abilities of the priests, religious, and laity and is ever more willing to work with them at all levels for the evangelization of the Church in Kumbo.

Bishop George is working very hard to build Catholic education, in the Catholic schools in the Diocese as well as in the religious education programs of the parishes. He has introduced the Catholic Education Week and the Bishop’s Education Fund which contributes in forming young people to become integral and holistic scholars. He is planning for the future construction of the Medical Department of the newly created Catholic University of Cameroon, Bamenda, and also carrying out improvements in the existing Schools in the Diocese.

One of the landmarks was the celebration of the centenary of the faith in the diocese of Kumbo in 2012. It was 100 years since the German Sacred Heart Fathers of St. Quentin arrived Kumbo. It was celebrated under the theme “We no longer believe because of what you told us” (John 4:42).

What is even more important for him, is pastoral plans, to be able to reach out to the people of God not only to preach the Gospel but also to be close to them in their needs is effectively being carried out. He has been trying to meet the Christians in their Parishes every year during pastoral visits and to set up little projects in the area of health and education to reassure the people of Kumbo and especially those in the remotest parts that they are not abandoned.

By Patience Ngwacalar Atanga in Essen in Germany

Fr. Ngenge Godlove Bong-aba who grew up in the Archdiocese of Bamenda in Cameroon’s Northwest region recalls several instances he has been harassed by the country’s security forces on allegations that he was connected to militants in the Central African nation.

In an interview with ACI Africa Wednesday, March 31, the former Parish Priest of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Esu Parish of Bamenda Archdiocese says that members of the Clergy whose only concern is to uphold the dignity of human life in the country are sometimes accused of siding with those who oppose the government.

“My challenges reflect those of the Catholic Church as a whole in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon,” Fr. Godlove told ACI Africa.

He added, “In my quest to uphold the truth, condemn injustice and defend the God-given dignity of the human being, I am sometimes misunderstood, suspected and misrepresented as supporting one or the other camp by the regime as well as the actors advocating for the breakaway state of Ambazonia!”

Ambazonia is a self-proclaimed independent state by separatists in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions.

Efforts to create the state are at the heart of the ongoing conflict that has led to the death of over 3,000 people and displacement of over 679,000 others. The conflict that started with a strike of a section of teachers and lawyers in the two regions has also left more than 600,000 children unable to go to school.

Fr. Godlove recalls a particular incident in 2020 when he was summoned by a group of military men that were setting up camp at a village near his Parish.

“I was introduced to the highest in command in the entire Division (a Colonel), who told me to my face that he did not trust Priests, Bishops and the Catholic Church as far as the crisis was concerned!” the Priest told ACI Africa.

He went on to narrate, “He (the Colonel) kept us there for over an hour, obtaining information from a Fulani motorbike rider concerning a boy who was riding my Parish motorbike, whom he suspected to be an armed separatist.”

The 33-year-old Priest who recently went to work on a project in South Africa says that were it not for the word of the Fulani, the military would have taken the young man into custody “and probably shot him and disposed of his body.”

In a separate incident, Fr. Godlove was denied access to an Outstation of his Parish by an armed separatist.

Recalling the event, he says, “I was with the same boy and they searched us thoroughly and emptied all my stuff on the ground; also claiming that I had shown the military the way to go and attack their colleagues.”

In this particular altercation, the Cameroonian Priest was ordered to leave immediately and warned never to minister at the outstation again.

Fr. Godlove is currently working with the Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI) that has been closely monitoring the situation in the conflict hit part of Cameroon for about two years now.

He shares with ACI Africa that the work of the institute of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) is to “meticulously record and report human rights violations in the country.”

The institute is also working to rouse the international community into action to work in bringing about an end to the conflict.

Fr. Godlove says that clashes between the Cameroonian military and armed separatists still occur from time to time.

“Except for a few schools that run in urban areas under strict military protection, schools remain closed down for all these years,” he says, and adds, “Teachers and students are targeted by separatist fighters in order to ensure effective school boycott.”

In the two English-speaking regions, there are “routine ghost town days” every Monday and total lockdown days to frustrate government activities.

Kidnapping for ransom by separatist fighters makes life unbearable for people in the conflict areas, he says.

“Esu where I worked is one of the hardest-hit areas in the conflict,” the Catholic Priest shares, adding that the local population suffers from the state military who accuse them of collaborating with armed separatists.

On the other hand, separatist fighters deal harshly with anyone suspected of interacting with the military, calling them “blacklegs”.

Blacklegs is a term used by the exiled advocates for separation (activists) and armed separatists to refer to those whom they think want to compromise the struggle for independence (traitors) by collaborating with the state military or other administrators of the regime.

Additionally, teachers, especially government-employed, are abducted, tortured, killed and extorted, Fr. Godlove told ACI Africa, adding that witch hunting and settlement of scores is rampant among the people.

Schools remain shut down in most of the rural areas and very few run in urban areas with heavy military presence, a situation that the Priest says psychologically impacts the learners negatively.

Movement between towns and villages in the conflict areas is very expensive, difficult and dangerous with many checkpoints mounted by both the state military and the separatist fighters, who extort money from passengers and drivers, he says.

“As a result, transport fare has quadrupled as bike riders and drivers risk having their cars, buses and bikes burnt down,” the Priest told ACI Africa during the March 31 interview.

He expressed concern that the number of internally and externally displaced person has kept on rising as a result of kidnapping for ransom in cities and killings by the Fulani gunmen who also loot in some of the rural areas and burn down villages.

Source: aciafrica.org

Pope Francis expresses his condolences for the death of Cardinal Christian Tumi, and praises the Cameroonian Archbishop’s defense of democracy and promotion of human rights.

Cardinal Christian Tumi passed away on Good Friday, 2 April, in a clinic in the Cameroonian city of Douala.

Pope Francis sent a telegram on Easter Sunday to express his condolences for the Cardinal’s death.

The Pope’s message was addressed to Archbishop Samuel Kleda, the Archbishop of Douala and Cardinal Tumi’s successor.

“On learning with sorrow of the death of our brother Cardinal Christian Tumi, I wish to express my condolences and my union in prayer with the College of Cardinals, the family and friends of the deceased, as well as with all those who mourn him,” wrote the Pope.

Unforgettable mark of service

He added that Cardinal Tumi “left an unforgettable mark on the Church and on the social and political life” of Cameroon.

Cardinal Tumi served from 1979 as the Bishop of Yagoua, then as the Archbishop of Garoua, and finally as the Archbishop of Douala until his retirement in 2009.

He was the African nation’s first Cardinal—created by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988.

Defender of democracy, servant to Popes

Pope Francis said the late Cardinal always committed himself “courageously to the defense of democracy and the promotion of human rights.”

He also praised Cardinal Tumi’s desire to promote peace and reconciliation “in his old age.”

“He was a faithful collaborator of the Popes, assuming various offices in the Roman Curia,” wrote Pope Francis. “May the Lord welcome His servant into His peace and joy!”

Source: Vatican News

Archbishop Samuel Kleda said that Cardinal Tumi who had been ill for some time, passed away peacefully during the night in his sleep at the IDIMED polyclinic in Douala. Samuel Kleda succeeded Cardinal Tumi when he resigned.

Born 15 October 1930 in Kikaikelaki village in Kumbo Bui Division in the North West region, Cardinal Tumi had a long and distinguished academic career and those who knew him recognised his desire for holiness and his gentleness and humility of character.

Tumi was a strong advocate for social justice and always highlighted the difficulties facing communities in both French and English speaking Cameroon.  Throughout his ministry and his life Cardinal Tumi dedicated great passion and commitment to the people of his diocese.

Tumi led the Douala Archdiocese at a very difficult time and recognised the need to allow younger generations to take-up leadership roles in the Church. He was much locked into the church’s side and on Canon Law, defending the church.

After being ordained a priest on 17 April 1966 for the diocese of Buea, Christian Wiyghan Tumi went to pursue his education in Nigeria and then in Great Britain followed by a spell at the Catholic Institute of Theology Lyon (France) and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) where he obtained a doctorate.

Upon his return to Cameroon, he was appointed rector of the regional major seminary in Bambui in the archdiocese of Bamenda. He had a meteoric rise in the Roman Catholic system- Bishop of Yagoua, coadjutor archbishop of Garoua, a diocese which he became archbishop on 17 March 1984. Finally, he became Archbishop of Douala on 31 August 1991, until his retirement. Christian Wiyghan Tumi was the only cardinal in Cameroon.

By Rita Akana

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