The Cardinal Secretary of State of the Vatican, Pietro Cardinal Parollin paid a visit to Bamenda on 30 and 31 January 2021 in the context of tense socio-political atmosphere in the English-Speaking Regions of Cameroon. He got to Bamenda on 30 January 2021, and had the opportunity to meet with the priests of the Archdiocese of Bamenda, and representative priests from the suffragran dioceses: Buea, Kumbo, Mamfe and Kumba. In the context of the meeting with the priests, he was addressed, on behalf of the Clergy, by the then Vicar for Clergy, Fr. Patrick Lafon, after which the Cardinal gave a fitting response to the anxieties of the priests, encouraging them to remain faithful to their vocation as priests amidst the uncertainties wrought by the armed conflict in the North West and Southwest Regions of Cameroon, in which some of the priests had become victims.
On Sunday, 31 January, the Cardinal Secretary of State celebrated Holy Mass at the Centenary Piazza with a great number of priests from the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and a mammoth crowd of the Faithful of the Archdiocese of Bamenda. The Cardinal gave an air of hope to the Faithful living in deplorable conditions, witnessing grievous inhuman assaults to the dignity of life. He assured the Faithful that God was very close to them in their grief, and theirs was to remain true to Him in their Christian calling.
In the context of the Eucharistic Celebration, the Archbishop of Bamenda, Rt. Rev. Andrew Nkea, received the Pallium from the Cardinal Secretary of State.
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