Bamenda. John Berinyuy Tatah is Bishop. Pope Leo XIV’s first appointment in Cameroon

Bamenda - On Thursday, the 19th of April 2026, Solemnity of St Joseph, Husband of the BVM, the clergy, religious men and women, the laity, civil and traditional authorities from across the national territory converged at the esplanade of the St Joseph Metropolitan cathedral, Bamenda, to join the Archbishop of Bamenda, Andrew Fuanya Nkea, in a solemn Ordination Holy Mass to welcome their new auxiliary Bishop, John Berinyuy Tatah, a priest of the same diocese who was appointed on February 13th by Pope Leo, the first appointment of his papacy for Cameroon, which he’ll be visiting in a couple of weeks. Bishop Andrew Nkea, who was chosen by Fr John Berinyuy to be the main celebrant in his homily, said: «My brother John, I welcome you with open arms to the Archdiocese of Bamenda, to which you already belong as a priest. Slightly above a month, you were my son; from today you are no longer my son but my brother in the Episcopacy», the Archbishop said.
He continued: «It is with great joy that I welcome you to join me so that together we can carry out the ministry of the Bishop in this local and particular church of Bamenda in fraternal communion, in divine love and joyful sharing, knowing that the work we are doing belongs to Jesus Christ and not to any of us».

Mentioning how blessed the diocese of Bamenda during his homily, the ordaining prelate said Bamenda is blessed because the pope will be visiting the Archdiocese in few weeks and will be talking to them in this same cathedral, they are blessed the first papal appointment is from their diocese. He thanked the Holy Father for granting his request of giving him an auxiliary Bishop because of the workload he has; the nature of the diocese, his work as president of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, member of the synod.

He continued: «I count on you as my fellow co-worker in the vineyard of Jesus Christ for the growth of the church in this Diocese. And both of us shall feed a sheep under our care. After all, Andrew and John were both apostles of Jesus Christ called together to be fishers of men». He added: «No one, in fact, can be considered a pastor worthy of the name if he is not a Good Shepherd. This is the fundamental reason why the ideal figure of the Bishop, on which the Church continues to count, is that of the pastor, who is configured to Christ by his holiness of life, expends himself generously for the Church entrusted to him, while at the same time bearing in his heart a concern for all churches throughout the world».

The local ordinary of the Bamenda Archdiocese added: «The choice of a Bishop does not depend on how intelligent the Priest is or how popular he is with the people, but it is solely the choice of God after a very careful discernment by the competent and deeply deputed ecclesiastical authorities and finally appointed by a personal decision of the Holy Father, the successor of Saint Peter and head of the apostolic college». In addition he said the work of the Bishop is that of a pastor who is ready to give his life for his sheep. He told the new Bishop that, the Episcopacy comes with some honors, yes those honors are there but they should not derail him from his principal mission, that of shepherd to the Gospel. «The office to which God has called you is an office of service on which you will every day pour out your life as a libation so that your flock may have life and have it in abundance,” Archbishop Nkea said.

This was in direct relation to what the new auxiliary Bishop had gone through as he himself decided to offer himself to kidnappers in exchange for his kidnapped brother priests a sign of sacrifice and love, this can be seen from his chosen Episcopal motto "Caritas in Obedientia" which is a summary of his priestly device No one has greater love than to lay down his life for those whom he loves. «You have shown yourself as an imitator of Jesus Christ when you surrendered your life for the sake of your brother Priests», the Archbishop said as an acknowledgement of Mons. John’s journey the last few months preceding his appointment.

The Metropolitan Archbishop warned the new Bishop «You are becoming a Bishop… where we have been going through a socio-political crisis for more than eight years, a challenging environment where people who have been to a theology school will teach you about theology, even those who don’t have Bibles will challenge your homilies», he said and added: «Your main interest should be how to bring hope to the hopeless, how to preach love among the people, and how to keep God’s people together. It is… unimaginable that a Bishop can be a promoter of war, of hatred, of division and above all lead people to despair”. He also stressed the Bishop’s role as a promoter of justice and peace, grounded in the Gospel. «The Bishop is the defender of human rights… he shows profound concern for the defense of all who are poor, raising his voice on behalf of the voiceless», the Archbishop said. Nkea reminded the people of God of their duty to pray for their Bishop, noting the weight of the responsibility entrusted to him, he said quoting from the church’s liturgical tradition that the Christian should pray for them so that they should be faithful to the apostolic office entrusted to them.

Entrusting the Bishop-elect to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, he prayed that she would accompany him in his ministry as “a living and more perfect image of Christ the Priest, the Good Shepherd, teacher and servant of all.” In a message of solidarity from the Episcopal college of Cameroon, Bishop Alain Philippe Mbarga officially welcomed the new Auxiliary Bishop into the Episcopal college. “The National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon… is pleased to welcome into its midst a new member… appointed by the Holy Father,” the Vice President of the Bishops conference said. "The appointment of a Bishop is always a sign of God’s solicitude and his love for his people… Dear people of God… God loves you”.

Bishop Alain continued to express the hope that the new Auxiliary Bishop’s ministry would bear fruit, saying, “May this new presence be for you… a source of graces and blessings… so that you may fulfill the vocation with holiness. We count on you to bring us fresh impetus so that we may respond more effectively to the many and varied challenges facing our society.” In his words of gratitude Bishop John Berinyuy expressed gratitude, framing his journey as a testimony of God’s grace. “I can only stand before you in humble amazement at the graciousness of God throughout my journey of faith,” he said. He added, “My identity is a tapestry of gratitude… I stand here solely by the mysterious providence of a God who calls the weak, sends the weary, and sustains the weary.”

Bishop Berinyuy expressed appreciation to Pope Leo XIV for his appointment, saying, “I express my deepest gratitude to Pope Leo XIV, who in the name of Christ called me into this service.” Same gratitude he expressed to his family and prayed for the repose of his departed mother, he also thanked the people of Kumbo his diocese of origin and of his village Shisong and Buluf who nurtured the seed of faith in him. The new Bishop pledged loyalty and collaboration with his Archbishop, saying, “Today, I pledge to you my loyal collaboration.”

He also underscored the importance of unity among Bishops, noting, “We form a college, sharing a common concern for the whole church.” Bishop Berinyuy is expected to assist the 60-year-old Archbishop Nkea in shepherding the people of God in the Cameroonian Metropolitan. Just as the Archbishop noted in his homily, Bishop John is his first vicar general, he’s not here on transition because it’s noted that auxiliary Bishops appointed in Bamenda are moved to other dioceses, Bishop John is the third auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda since its creation and as of now the only auxiliary Bishop in the whole of sub Central region of Africa, in attendance was also the Apostolic nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea Msgr José Avelino Bettencourt.

Tan Ayuni
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