Bamenda - Leo XIV is preparing to undertake an apostolic journey of significant ecclesial and political weight on the African continent. From 13 to 23 April, the Pontiff will visit Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, travelling through eleven cities in eleven days, in what will be his third international journey since the beginning of his pontificate. This is not merely a sequence of institutional engagements and liturgical celebrations: the programme clearly reflects the priorities of this pontificate, from interreligious dialogue to peace, from care for the poor and the sick to a concrete closeness to local Churches marked by deep wounds.
A journey through Africa’s wounds and expectations
Africa is a continent where Christian memory, social tensions, conflict, evangelisation and popular expectations are deeply intertwined. From the land of Saint Augustine in Algeria to the regions scarred by the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon, from the shrines and peripheries of Angola to encounters with young people, families and prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, Leo XIV is shaping a journey that brings together pastoral mission, diplomatic presence and symbolic gesture. It is a visit that speaks to the Churches of Africa, but also to the international community.
The expectations of young people in Bamenda
Silere non possum spoke with several Christians in Bamenda, gathering their hopes and expectations ahead of the visit.
One of the young people, Keven Melanita, a student of Accounting and Finance at the University of Bamenda, a member of the Cadet of Mary group and Secretary General of the Youth Federation in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, said: “My expectations are that, since the Pope is coming to Bamenda for a peace visit, peace should return in the North West and South West Regions and in all the other parts of Cameroon.”
“The Church in Bamenda is blessed and the Catholic Church in particular is a blessed denomination… if I was to meet the Pope in person I will be very grateful to him for having chosen our country and Bamenda as one of his first destinations in his pontificate. I will plead with him to get to our authorities so that peace should return back to our country Cameroon,” Keven added.
Shey Paul Tardzenyuy, another young person who belongs to the Archdiocesan Samba group, a social and cultural group in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, and a member of the Divine Mercy Apostolate, said: “My expectations from the Pope’s visit to Bamenda is for the Pope to come and initiate a peaceful dialogue for the crisis that we have been facing for over 9 years today; with this expectation, I believe that the Pope’s visit will bring and bear more fruits to bring lasting solutions to this Anglophone problem.”
Paul, who now lives in Bamenda as a result of the crisis, having fled his diocese of origin, Kumbo, the epicentre of the conflict, added: “If I am opportuned to meet with Pope Leo, I will ask him and plead with him to initiate dialogue with the authorities that be - that’s the government and the secessionist fighters. I will ask him to plead with them and to initiate dialogue with them so that we can have lasting peace in the North West and South West.”
Crisis, faith and daily life
Speaking about the difficulties experienced as a young Catholic in the Archdiocese of Bamenda, Paul explained: “One of the challenges we are facing during this crisis is not going to church on some Sundays when there’s shooting… another challenge is that being a Christian and belonging to the Catholic Church seems a taboo to the secessionist fighters. They turn to kidnap many Christians in view of requesting ransoms for their release, just like they have been kidnapping priests; Catholics or Christians turn to be their targets, ransoms being paid before their release.” These are experiences that have profoundly marked Paul’s life; he is now married, yet remains actively involved in youth ministry within the archdiocese.
In a region marked by an extreme fear of the unknown, other young people in the archdiocese say it is difficult to carry out ordinary daily activities. Many have left their home villages and now seek refuge or live as internally displaced persons in other neighbourhoods. They have lost jobs and loved ones because of the crisis. All of this, they said, at times leads them to question their faith. At the same time, they added that the Pope’s visit, and the messages he will deliver during Mass and meetings, will carry a strong appeal to Cameroonians, so that the country may once again experience peace and tranquillity. One of them said he hopes that the government and the authorities will listen to the Holy Father’s message, take his advice and put it into practice.
The role of women and the Catholic Women Association
Emaille Epepe, National Publicity Secretary of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) of the Archdiocese of Yaoundé, who came to Bamenda to assist at the ordination of the Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda, said: “We have a very vital role to play in the upcoming visit of Pope Leo. We know that the Church cannot move without the Catholic Women Association. We are looking forward to that visit with great excitement. To have the Holy Father come to Cameroon and visit us is something that happens once in a lifetime; we need to put everything together to make it a success.”
Speaking about the challenges faced by girls and women, which also affect their faith, she said: “Definitely Cameroonian women, like all other women all over the world, are facing their own kind of challenges, which are not unique to Cameroon; it’s general. Fortunately, the Church is also playing its role under Church leaders to make sure that discrimination against women and the girl child is minimised.” She continued: “We, as women of the Catholic Women Association, the mothers of the Catholic Women Association, are also doing our best to uplift the lives of women. We are trying to remove young girls from the streets; we are trying to get girls to go to our women empowerment centres and learn some trade, like in our centre here in Bamenda called Immaculate Conception Empowerment Centre, built by the CWA.”
“The goal of the centre is for the girl child who was in the streets to learn a trade, uplift their lifestyles and be economically stable,” she added.
What they would ask the Pope
Asked what she would request from the Holy Father if given the opportunity to meet him, she said: “If I was to meet the Pope, we will continue to ask him to pray for us, to commit our collaborators to make policies that will favour women and the girl child in particular… especially our girls in the North West and South West Regions, who are victims of the crisis, and also those of the Northern part of Cameroon. These are the target regions that we are trying to make sure our girls get to our centres and learn a trade in order to help themselves.”
Regarding the level of preparation, she concluded: “We are preparing spiritually, and there are also other things that the Church is asking us to do; we are doing them. Some members of the CWA belong to some committees… it’s also a state visit, so we can only do what the Church asks us to do, and we do it wholeheartedly.”
Emmanuel Patrick Tan
Silere non possum