Where is Bishop Francis Lysinge now? ⁰

There are moments when words seem too small for the mystery before us. The burial of Bishop Emeritus Francis Teke Lysinge, former Bishop of the Diocese of Mamfe, is one such moment.

He has been laid to rest. The Church has prayed. The faithful have mourned. The solemn rites have been celebrated, with the Papal Nuncio to Cameroon, His Grace Archbishop Avelino Bettencourt leading the historic ceremony. And now, beneath the silence that follows the final farewell, one question rises above all others:

Where is Bishop Francis Lysinge now? For the believer, the answer is not found merely in the grave. He has met HIM. He has met the One to whom he gave his life. He has met Christ the King.

For decades, Bishop Francis Lysinge stood before God’s people proclaiming the Gospel, administering the sacraments, consoling the brokenhearted, challenging the powerful, encouraging the weak and reminding the Church that this world is not our final home. He spoke of Christ, prayed to Christ, served Christ and called others to follow Christ.

Now Bishop Lysinge the preacher has encountered the One he preached. The shepherd has met the Shepherd. The servant has met the Master. The pilgrim has reached the destination. And perhaps this is where the mourning Christian must allow grief to give way, slowly and painfully, to hope.

We of the Cameroon Concord Group mourn Bishop Francis Lysinge because death creates an emptiness that cannot be easily explained away. His voice will no longer be heard in the familiar places. His presence will no longer be felt among the people he served. Mamfe has lost a father. The Church has lost a shepherd. Cameroon has lost a son. But the Christian faith dares to look beyond the coffin.We believe that death does not have the final word.Christ does.

And so, as we stand at the threshold between farewell and eternity, we can imagine Bishop Francis Lysinge standing before the King he served—not with the MITRE of a bishop, not with the titles of office, not surrounded by the ceremonies of this world, but simply as a child of God. There, every earthly distinction falls away. There is no diocese to govern, no homily to prepare, no administrative burden to carry, no controversy to explain and no human expectation to satisfy. There is only Christ. Christ the King! The One who called him! The One who sustained him! The One whom he sought, sometimes through triumph and sometimes through trial. And now, by the grace for which every Christian prays, the One whom he has finally met face to face.

That thought should also make us examine ourselves. Because Bishop Francis Lysinge‘s funeral is not only about remembering the dead, it is about confronting the living. One day, every title we carry will become past tense. One day, every office we occupy will belong to someone else.

One day, the applause will stop, the arguments will cease, the possessions will remain behind and our journey will come down to the most fundamental question of all: Did we know Christ? Not merely know about Him. Did we love Him? Did we serve Him? Did we recognize Him in the poor, the wounded, the forgotten and the stranger? Did our lives point people toward Him? Did we remain faithful when faith became costly?

That is the soul-searching question Bishop Lysinge’s departure leaves with us. The funeral procession has ended, but the examination of conscience has begun. Perhaps that is one of the greatest tributes we can offer him—not merely to praise the life he lived, but to allow his death to change the way we live ours.

Bishop Francis Lysinge has gone before us. And if his life taught us anything, it is that the Christian vocation is ultimately a journey toward a Person. Not toward a title. Not toward an institution. Not toward earthly recognition. Toward Christ the King.

So let the bells of Mamfe town ring not only with sorrow, but with hope. Let the Church grieve, but let her also believe.

Let those who loved Bishop Lysinge shed their tears, but let those tears be accompanied by prayer. And let us say, with reverence and with the hope of the Resurrection: Rest in peace, Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge.

You preached the King. You served the King. You carried His cross. And now, after the long pilgrimage of faith, you have met HIM. Christ the King.

May HE receive His servant into the fullness of His Kingdom, and may Bishop Lysinge’s memory become not merely something we preserve, but a summons to each of us to prepare for the day when we, too, shall stand before the King.

To this I put my name

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai