- Male Clerical and Non-Clerical Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Male Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Archdiocese at the Period covered by this Report are:
- Mill Hill Missionaries
The Mill Hill Missionaries, officially known as St. Joseph’s Missionary Society, was founded in 1866, in Mill Hill, North West London, England by Herbert Cardinal Vaughan. It is a Society of Apostolic life and of Pontifical Right. The Society’s fundamental charism is working in the area of Primary Evangelization. However, now it also focuses on inter-faith dialogue, justice and peace issues, Reconciliation and Mission animation. The Society started its missionary work in Cameroon in 1922 when the Apostolic Prefecture of Buea was entrusted to them by the Holy See. They started in Bonjongo, then moved up to Shisong (now Kumbo Diocese) in 1923 and then to Njinikom in the Archdiocese of Bamenda which was erected into a Parish in 1927. They have been the pioneers of the evangelization of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and at the heart of the work of evangelization in the Archdiocese of Bamenda since its creation, collaborating with the Local Ordinaries and the local clergy in the establishment of many early parishes and educational institutions.
Up to the time of this report, they were entrusted with the pastoral administration of only one Parish, namely, St. Jude’s Parish, Fundong. But since 2005, and with their increasing numbers, their pastoral commitment to the Archdiocese is also on the increase. Besides being engaged in Parish Pastoral Ministry in the Archdiocese, one of their members is part of the staff in St. Thomas’ Aquinas Major Seminary, one of them was a member of the Archdiocesan College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council. St. Theresia Parish, Ilung has also been entrusted to the Pastoral care of the Mill Hill Missionaries. At the moment, there are ten Mill Hill Missionaries, eight Priests and two Brothers, serving in the Archdiocese of Bamenda.
They have a Formation House with an increasing number of candidates from the Archdiocese of Bamenda. In fact, the Formation House is being extended to provide accommodation for about 40 candidates. The candidates are sent to the Catholic University of Cameroon – Bamenda for their philosophical formation. Their Theological formation takes place outside the Archdiocese and outside the Country. Presently, they have twenty-nine Mill Hill Missionaries from Cameroon, twenty of whom are from the Archdiocese, serving as Missionaries in different parts of the World.
Being the pioneers of the evangelization of the Archdiocese, they have been considered as our fathers in the faith, and so, up till now, the relationship of collaboration with them in the work of evangelization has been taken for granted and based on tradition, mutual understanding and gentleman’s agreement. We are grateful to the General Superior, the Very Rev. Father Michael Corcoran, MHM, the Society Superior for Cameroon, Rev. Fr. Richard Njoroge, who, in June 2021 officially departed from Cameroon, and to all of them for their availability to continue to be at the service of mission in the Archdiocese particularly engaging in primary evangelization work and working side by side with the Diocesan clergy.
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