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SPIRITUAL LIFE AND GROWTH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BAMENDA

SPIRITUAL LIFE AND GROWTH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BAMENDA

SPIRITUAL LIFE AND GROWTH OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BAMENDA

 

 

  1. Administration of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation and of Anointing of the Sick

 

The statistics below about the administration of the sacraments according to the various parishes are gleaned from the Sacred Returns since the last Quinquennial report. They show that there is a general increase as far as the administration of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation is concerned, although the statistics of some of the Parishes are not up-to-date. The summaries given below show that during the period covered by the Report, that is, from 2005 to 2013, the Catholic population has grown by 38,118 Adult Baptisms, 34,591 Infant Baptisms and 1,143 people have been welcomed into the Catholic Church from other Christian Denominations. It means that the Catholic population, without counting the dead, has increased by 73,852. There are 48,199 First Holy Communions and 30,422 Confirmations.

 

The statistics for the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick stand at 34,767. Also, there are some emergencies that come up and Christians are anointed but not recorded in the register. Generally, the Priests are available for the Sacrament of Confession and a good number of Christians are aware of the importance of this sacrament. Except for cases where the priests are given faculties to absolve from censures reserved to the Local Ordinary, statistics are not kept for the Sacrament of Confession.

 

SUMMARY FOR THE SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION

NAME OF PARISH ADULTS INFANTS RECEPT F.H.C   CONFN
1.    AKUM 1,293 1,046 83 1491 344
2.   AZIRE 1,040 1,180 62 1,512 1,015
3.BABANKI  Tungo 827 992 19 824 499
4.   BAFMENG 1,112 762 28 9,364 478
5    BAFUT 496 1,131 55 873 846
6.   BALI 741 644 52 500 608
7.   BALIKUMBAT 1,604 282 9 1,684 1,003
8.   BAMBILI 715 1,166 45 1,602 964
9.   BAMBUI 576 1,856 43 1,928 1,146
10.   BATIBO 605 317 9 765 1,700
11.   BAYELLE 3,941 2,962 67 3,996 4,040
12.   BENAKUMA 449 521 21 325 427
13.   ESU 616 746 6 681 408
14.   FUANATUI 487 548 786 1075
15.    FULI-KOM 1,817 1,401 36 1,560 838
16.   FUNDONG 2,090 2,826 57 1,598 1214
17.   FUTRU 902 1,189 38 825 625
18.   MANKON 3778 2138 88 3203 3297
19.   MBESA 385 458 2 574 255
20.  NDOP 2140 976 39 1467 620
21.   NGOMGHAM 1172 1534 83 1794 931
22.   NJIMAFOR 721 1122 44 946 505
23.  NJINDOM 328 396 37 785 526
24.   NJINIKOM 665 1312 1 1155 603
25.    NTAMBENG 1289 903 48 600 377
26.   TEZE 204 456 19 304 283
27.   WIDIKUM 908 2163 43 1497 858
28.   WUM 3119 1300 40 2347 1093
29.   SANTA 861 746 33 992 467
30.   BABA I 696 405 1 435 275
31.   MBENGWI 189 137 15 273 379
32.   NJINTEH 222 259 7 280 677
33. KEDJOM-KEKU 1842 289 2 1048 1588
34.   ILUNG 86 301 4 81 328
35.   YEMNGE 201 95 6 104 44
36.   FONFUKA
37.   NTAAFI 10
38.   MENKA 18
39.St. John, Nkwen
40.HolyTrinity,Wum 1 4 1 86
Totals 38,118 34,591 1143 48199   30422

 

 

 

 

 

  1. 2. The Sacrament of Matrimony

 

In the Archdiocese of Bamenda, a good number of Marriages have taken place during the last quinquennium. Some are Ordinary Marriages, others are Mixed Marriages and/or Disparitus Cultus and others “Sanatio in Radice”. The statistics below speak for themselves. Again, there are no proper statistics for some of the Parishes, especially the Quasi Parishes. Marriage and family life are still highly regarded because children are considered a gift from God. However, unfortunately, there is a growing incidence of divorce, cohabitations and free unions among the youth, especially in the urban areas. The practice of same sex marriages is apparently unheard of as yet because it is considered an abomination by the traditional African culture.

 

 

SUMMARIES OF MARRIAGES FOR THE LAST QUINQUENNIUM

NAME OF PARISH ORD. M MIXED SANATIO DISP. CUL.
1.    AKUM 114 10 3
2.   AZIRE 187 8 7 1
3.   BABNKI  TUNGO 75 6 2
4.   BAFMENG 25
5    BAFUT 90 17 1 1
6.   BALI 83 24 7 1
7.   BALIKUMBAT 48
8.   BAMBILI 116 4 1
9.   BAMBUI 168 13 6
10.   BATIBO 64 4 1
11.   BAYELLE 583 35 43 2
12.   BENAKUMA 42 4 1
13.   ESU 34 2
14.   FUANATUI 99 3
15.    FULI-KOM 165 19 5 3
16.   FUNDONG 138 6
17.   FUTRU 133 21 2 6
18.   MANKON 454 30 3 1
19.   MBESA 76 8 10
20.  NDOP 185 9 6 7
21.   NGOMGHAM 162 24 22 1
22.   NJIMAFOR 188 19 4
23.  NJINDOM 46 9 1
24.   NJINIKOM 147 23 1
25.    NTAMBENG 150 18 1 8
26.   TEZE 43 7
27.   WIDIKUM 103 5
28.   WUM 121 8
29.   SANTA 39 3 5 1
30.   BABA I 27 2 2
31.   MBENGWI 21 3 2
32.   NJINTEH 40 6
33.   KEDJOM-KEKU 13 7
34.   ILUNG 8
35.   YEMNGE 9
36.   FONFUKA
37.   NTAAFI 3 1
38.   MENKA
39. ST JOHN,  Nkwen
40.  Holy Trinity, WUM
Totals 3, 999 355 131 40

 

 

  1. The Sacrament of Holy Order

 

At the beginning of the period of this Report, there were very few candidates for the Priesthood for the Archdiocese of Bamenda. There were very few ordinations to the Priesthood. In fact, in 2008 and 2009 no candidate was ordained for the Archdiocese. In order to improve the situation, the Local Ordinary decided to hold the annual meetings with the Major Seminarians in a different Parish each year. In this way, both the Christian community, especially the youth, were able to have direct and personal contact with the seminarians as well as better knowledge about the Priestly Vocation and Priestly Formation. Together with the intensification of the vocations apostolate, the number of vocations to the Priesthood has been steadily increasing to the extent that we have had more ordinations to the Priesthood during the period of this Report and during the previous quinquennium. From the statistics given below, it can be said that the future is promising. This year, there are 12 candidates doing the Spiritual Year in John Mary Vianney Spiritual Formation, Bafut, 27 candidates doing Philosophy and 31 doing Theology in St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Bambui.

 

The statistics below show the number of priestly candidates for the Archdiocese of Bamenda and the number of Priests ordained each year during the period of this Report.

 

Priestly Candidates during the period of the Report

ACADEMIC  YEAR PHILOSOPHICUM THEOLOGICUM SPIRITUAL CENTRE
2014/2015 26 8 12
2015/2016 31 4 5
2016/2017 30 5 12
2017/2018 25 8 6
2018/2019 21 20 3
2019/2020 22 27 14
2020/2021 23 28 18
2021/2022 36 35 12

 

Number of Priests Ordained during the period of this Quinquennial Report

 

2015                                 6

2016                                 11

2017                                 6

2018                                  –

2019                                8

2020                                 14

2021                                 13

Total                                58

  1. Sacred Liturgy

 

Sacred Liturgy has been the top priority in the Archdiocese of Bamenda. Seminars have been organized by the Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies in the various deaneries of the Archdiocese with the aim of directing the actors at the Liturgy: readers, ushers, Altar Servers, the Choirs, etc., all geared towards imparting the spirit of the Liturgy in the Archdiocese.

 

Following the Pastoral Plan, the Liturgy Commission exists nearly in all the Parishes. The aim of this commission is to help the Christian people to celebrate their faith in community so that they may be sanctified and give greater glory and honour to God. They meet every week and look into the liturgical life of the Parish and also draw up the programme of the liturgy for Sundays and other Solemnities. They work in close collaboration with the Priests of the Parish who are available to guide and direct them on Liturgical matters. At the level of the deaneries, the Liturgical Commission also meet to plan events taking place at deanery levels, especially during the annual Chrism Mass that is usually prepared by each deanery.

 

At the level of the Archdiocese, there is the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission that helps to coordinate Archdiocesan celebrations. Due to the commitment of some of the members of this commission, the celebration of the Liturgy in the Archdiocese of Bamenda has improved greatly even though it has not reached perfection. It is our hope and wish that the commission at the Archdiocesan level should be more functional and coordinate the activities of the deaneries for a better celebration of the Liturgy according to the laid down liturgical norms.

 

  1. Devotional Life of the Archdiocese

 

In the Archdiocese of Bamenda, the Spiritual Life of the faithful is nourished through the various devotions that are organized during the course of the year.

 

Every month, there is the First Friday devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in most of the parishes of the Archdiocese. This was intensified with the advent of the Anglophone Crisis, wherein the Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province encouraged all the Christians to use the whole of this day as a day of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, praying for the resolution of the problems plaguing Anglophone Cameroon.

 

Every Sunday, there is Vespers/Rosary and Benediction in most of the Parishes of the Archdiocese. During the Pastoral Week celebrations in January 2021, this was reiterated by the Archbishop, and he emphasized that all the parishes in the Archdiocese should take up this practice. Many Christians sacrifice time to be part of the recitation of Vespers/Rosary and Benediction. Over the years, the attendance has been good, and the members of the Vocations Group, the Altar Servers and Cadets of Mary take this devotion very seriously to deepen their spiritual life.

 

During Lent, most of the Churches in the Parishes of the Archdiocese are full to capacity because of the prayer of the Way of the Cross. This starts in some parishes as early as 5.00 a.m. and Christians come in their numbers every day. This devotional activity is normally followed by the sacrifice of the Mass. Unfortunately, some of the Christians who come for this devotional prayer do not hold on to attend the sacrifice of the Mass. Priests have not relented in their efforts to encourage the people to be part of the Stations of the Cross and also attend Mass in order to get the spiritual benefits that go with it.

 

Before Pentecost, the entire Archdiocese of Bamenda participates in the Novena Prayer to the Holy Spirit which is organized every year in preparation for the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost. The members of the Charismatic Renewal always seize this opportunity to organized spiritual talks during the week leading up to Pentecost. This Spiritual exercise is cherished by many who see it as a source of spiritual growth. The novena normally ends with the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost. Eucharistic adoration is one of the added spiritual exercises carried out during this week.

 

In the month of October, there is the October devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Many Parishes bring their Christians together for the recitation of the Rosary either in the morning or in the evening. Families are encouraged to pray the Rosary, and the various Small Christian Communities also organize themselves and get an appropriate time in the evening when they can meet and pray the Rosary. Many individual Christians also pray the Rosary, especially during this Month.

 

  1. Archdiocesan Lenten Pilgrimage

 

In the Archdiocese of Bamenda, we are blessed to have the Mater Redemptoris Shrine at Jangma that was constructed and handed over to the Archdiocese of Bamenda by Mr. Fred Mubang of Blessed Memory. He was a faithful and committed Christian of St. Joseph Parish, Mankon. His Parish of origin is Queen of Peace Parish, Njimafor where the Shrine is located. Many Parishes and Deaneries within and out of the circumscription of the Archdiocese of Bamenda have been making use of this shrine for regular pilgrimages.

 

Down through the years, it has been a source of great spiritual nourishment as far as the spiritual wellbeing of the entire Archdiocese is concerned. Not only the Catholic Christians, but also Christians of other denominations and people of good participate in the pilgrimage. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the barrier measures put in place to curb its spread, this annual Lenten spiritual journey, although earlier planned for, was not undertaken this year.

 

  1. Prayer and Action Groups in the Archdiocese of Bamenda

 

In the Archdiocese of Bamenda, there are about 17 Prayer and Action Groups in the various parishes and Quasi Parishes. These include: Association of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Divine Mercy Devotion, Legion of Mary, Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement, Precious Blood of Jesus Devotion, Blue Army, Bona Mors, St. Jude Apostolate, St. Vincent de Paul, Father Samson’s Foundation, St. Philomena group, Youth Apostolate, Catholic Women’s Association and the Catholic Men Association, the Samba. Most of these groups have already been in the Archdiocese during the last quinquennium. Most of them have weekly meetings and give promotional talks on the activities of their groups in the respective parishes, Quasi Parishes and also at Deanery levels. They are also organized at the level of the Archdiocese. They also carry out some charitable works in the Archdiocese like caring for the sick and needy. Chaplains have been attached to some of these groups to guide them in their spiritual journey.

 

Recently, many of them have seen the need to have a deeper formation. This explains why some groups sponsor their members to do the Maryvale Certificate/Diploma Course for two years through distance learning. Those who are sent to do this programme help back in their various prayer and action groups in sharing the knowledge they have acquired.

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