Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda in Cameroon. It was by the bull Tametsi Christianarum, of 13 August 1970, that Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Bamenda with territory detached from the Diocese of Buéa. On 18 March 1982 Pope John Paul II created, by the bull Eo Magis Ecclesia Catholica, the Archdiocese of Bamenda and the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, and erected the Diocese of Kumbo with territory detached from the Diocese of Bamenda. Bamenda was by the same bull made into the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province with Buéa and Kumbo as its suffragans. Mamfe was later created into a diocese with territory detached from Buéa. Bamenda, therefore, has three suffragan sees: Buéa, Kumbo and Mamfe. As of November 2013 there are 35 parishes in Bamenda divided into six deaneries: Njinikom, Mankon, Widikum, Bambui, Wum and Ndop.

History

• 13 August 1970: Established as Diocese of Bamenda from the Diocese of Buéa
• 18 March 1982: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bamenda

Special churches

The seat of the archbishop is St Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Bamenda. The oldest parish of the archdiocese is St Anthony's Parish Njinikom. Other significant parish churches include St Matthias, Widikum; St Patrick, Babanki Tungo; St Martin de Porres, Wum; St Peter, Bambui; and St Joseph, Bafut. There is a Mater Redemptoris shrine in Njangma, Mbatu in Njimafor parish. Furthermore, there is the Centenary Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Fujua in Fundong parish, where the first missionaries of the Sacred Heart of the Belgian Region settled in 1913.

Bishops

Ordinaries, in reverse chronological order

• Metropolitan Archbishops of Bamenda (Roman rite), below
  • Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya (since 30 December 2019)
  • Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua (23 January 2006 – 30 December 2019)
  • Archbishop Paul Verdzekov (18 March 1982 – 23 January 2006); see below
• Bishop of Bamenda (Roman rite), below
  • Bishop Paul Verdzekov (13 August 1970 – 18 March 1982); see above

Coadjutor archbishop

• Cornelius Fontem Esua (2004–2006)

Auxiliary bishops

• Agapitus Enuyehnyoh Nfon (2011–2016), appointed Bishop of Kumba
• Michael Bibi (2017–2021), appointed Apostolic Administrator of Buéa on December 28, 2019, and later Bishop there

Suffragan Dioceses

Do not confuse Kumba and Kumbo.

• Buéa
• Kumba
• Kumbo
• Mamfe

Twinning

Since 1974 the diocese has been officially twinned with the Diocese of Portsmouth in England.

Education

• Sacred Heart College, Bamenda

See also

• Roman Catholicism in Cameroon

Sources

• - Fr Tatah Mbuy, Archdiocesan Director of Communication Archived 2018-03-29 at the Wayback Machine