Religion

23, April 2025

Vatican: More than 20,000 gather as mourners file past Pope Francis’s open coffin ⁰

Pope Francis’s body has been moved from his residence in the Vatican to lie in state at St Peter’s Basilica

Mourners are now filing past the coffin.

The open coffin will stay in front of the Papal Altar during the three days of public mourning

Bells rang and people applauded as the procession made its way through St Peter’s Square

The Pope died on Monday morning – his funeral will take place on Saturday, attended by leaders from around the world.

As many as 20,000 pilgrims gathered at St Peter’s Square today to witness the procession of Pope Francis’s body, according to reports by Vatican media.

Many of those who witnessed the service in the square will likely also join the queue to see the Pope lying in state.

The transfer of the Pope’s coffin to St Peter’s Basilica began at 09:00 local time (08:00 BST) on Wednesday, following a prayer ceremony in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta, where the Pope lived.

The procession was led by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo. He is the person who runs the Vatican after the death or resignation of a pope.

Source: BBC

23, April 2025

Hajj 2025: Atanga Nji visits Ethiopian Airlines ⁰

Minister of Territorial Administration of Cameroon and President of the Cameroon Hajj Committee Paul Atanga Nji, along with his delegation visited Ethiopian Airlines’ state-of-the-art facilities.

During his visit, Paul Atanga Nji and his delegation held fruitful discussions with Ethiopian Airline Group CEO Mesfin Tasew and members of the Executive Management, according to Ethiopian Group.

During the occasion, Ethiopian Airlines reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to serving Hajj pilgrims from Cameroon, as well its regular flight services to Yaoundé and Douala.

22, April 2025

Cardinal Kevin Farrell will be the next Pope ⁰

When the world learned of Pope Francis’ death on Monday morning, an Irish-American cardinal, little known in the wider world, was the one to break the news.

After announcing that the pope had “returned to the home of the Father”, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell took on one of his biggest roles yet: the “camerlengo”, or the person who runs the Vatican after the death or resignation of a pope.

Pope Francis nominated the cardinal for the role in 2019. The cardinal will remain in the position during the “Apostolica Sedes Vacans”, the period between the death or resignation of a pope until the election of the next pontiff.

He also will play an important role in the centuries-old ceremonies to mourn Pope Francis.

Born in 1947 in Dublin, Farrell attended the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, according to the Vatican.

He held roles in churches around the world, serving as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico as well as at a parish in Bethesda, Maryland.

All told, the 77-year-old spent more than 30 years working for churches in the US.

Farrell was appointed Bishop of Dallas in 2007 until Pope Francis asked him in 2016 to serve as the leader of the Vatican’s new department responsible for the pastoral care of families, raising him to the rank of cardinal.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell and other Vatican officials announce the death of Pope Francis in a video statement from the Vatican on 21 April.

Years after naming him as camerlengo, in 2023, Francis chose Farrell as president of the Supreme Court of Vatican City State. He was also named president of the Commission for Confidential Matters.

How the next Pope is chosen

As camerlengo, Cardinal Farrell will be tasked with making arrangements for the conclave, the process through which the next pontiff is selected.

Technically, a camerlengo can become pope, as has happened twice in history: Gioacchino Pecci (Pope Leo XIII) in 1878 and Eugenio Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) in 1939.

The cardinal also will preside over the certification of Francis’s death, laying his body into the coffin. After that, the cardinal is expected to lead a procession moving the pope’s body from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta to St Peter’s Basilica.

The ceremony could take place as soon as Wednesday morning, according to the Vatican.

Source: BBC

22, April 2025

Pope Francis’s funeral to take place on Saturday ⁰

Pope Francis’s funeral will take place on Saturday at 10:00 local time (09:00 BST, 08:00 GMT), the Vatican confirms.

The Vatican has also released images of Pope Francis in an open coffin, dressed in a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary in his hand

He will be taken to St Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning, where his casket will remain until burial for the public to pay their respects

The pontiff’s death has prompted an outpouring of grief from Catholics across the globe. From South Sudan to Argentina, Poland to the Philippines, the BBC reports from across five continents.

Source: BBC

21, April 2025

Who can become the Pope? ⁰

Pope Francis has died at the age of 88, after 12 years as spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

His death has set in motion the centuries-old process of electing a new Pope.

What does the Pope do?

The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church. Roman Catholics believe he represents a direct line back to Jesus Christ. He is considered a living successor to St Peter, who was chief among Christ’s initial disciples, the Apostles.

That gives him full and unhindered power over the entire Catholic Church and makes him an important source of authority for the world’s roughly 1.4 billion Catholics.

While many Catholics often consult the Bible for guidance, they can also turn to the teachings of the Pope, which govern the Church’s beliefs and practices.

About half of all Christians worldwide are Roman Catholics. Other denominations, including Protestants and Orthodox Christians, do not recognise the Pope’s authority.

The Pope lives in Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world. It is surrounded by the Italian capital, Rome.

The Pope does not receive a salary, but all his travel costs and living expenses are paid for by the Vatican.

What happens when the Pope dies?

A papal funeral has traditionally been an elaborate affair, but Pope Francis recently approved plans to make the whole procedure less complex.

Previous pontiffs were buried in three nested coffins made of cypress, lead and oak. Pope Francis has opted for a simple wooden coffin lined with zinc.

He has also scrapped the tradition of placing the Pope’s body on a raised platform – known as a catafalque – in St Peter’s Basilica for public viewing.

Instead, mourners will be invited to pay their respects while his body remains inside the coffin, with the lid removed.

Francis will also be the first Pope in more than a century to be buried outside the Vatican.

He will be laid to rest in the Basilica of St Mary Major, one of four major papal basilicas in Rome.

A basilica is a church which has been granted special significance and privileges by the Vatican. The major basilicas have a particular connection to the Pope.

Who chooses the new Pope?

The new Pope has to be chosen by the Catholic Church’s most senior officials, known as the College of Cardinals.

All men, they are appointed directly by the Pope, and are usually ordained bishops.

There are currently 252 Catholic cardinals, 138 of whom are eligible to vote for the new Pope.

The others are over the age of 80, which means they cannot take part in the election, although they can join in the debate over who should be selected.

How is the Pope chosen and what is the conclave?

When the Pope dies (or resigns, as in the rare case of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013), the cardinals are summoned to a meeting at the Vatican, followed by the conclave, as the election is known.

During the time between the Pope’s death and the election of his successor, the College of Cardinals governs the Church.

The election is held in strict secrecy inside the Sistine Chapel, famously painted by Michelangelo.

Individual cardinals vote for their preferred candidate until a winner is determined, a process which can take several days. In previous centuries, voting has gone on for weeks or months. Some cardinals have even died during conclaves.

The only clue about how the election is proceeding is the smoke that emerges twice a day from burning the cardinals’ ballot papers. Black signals failure. The traditional white smoke means the new Pope has been chosen.

How is the decision about the new Pope made public?

After the white smoke goes up, the new Pope normally appears within an hour on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square.

The senior cardinal participating in the conclave will announce the decision with the words “Habemus Papam” – Latin for “we have a Pope”.

He will then introduce the new Pope by his chosen papal name, which may or may not be his original given name.

For example, Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, but he chose a different name for his papacy in honour of St Francis of Assisi.

Who can become the Pope?

In theory, any Roman Catholic man who has been baptised can be considered for election to become Pope.

In practice, however, the cardinals prefer to select one of their own.

When the Argentine-born Pope Francis was chosen at the previous conclave in 2013, he became the first pontiff ever to hail from South America, a region that accounts for roughly 28% of the world’s Catholics.

But historical precedent suggests the cardinals are far more likely to pick a European – and especially an Italian.

Of the 266 popes chosen to date, 217 have been from Italy.

Source: BBC

21, April 2025

Pope Francis dies aged 88 ⁰

The Pope, who is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at 07:35 local time on Easter Monday

World leaders pay tribute to his “contagious smile” and “boundless compassion”, with French President Emmanuel Macron calling him a “man of humility”

His death comes a day after he appeared in St Peter’s Square to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers

He was recently discharged from hospital last month after five weeks of treatment for an infection.

The pontiff’s death not only follows the most important calendar event for Catholics, but falls into the special jubilee year, which comes around every 25 years.

The jubilee kicked off when the Pope opened the usually bricked-up Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica on 24 December, and sees millions of pilgrims descend on the Vatican to pass through the doorway and seek forgiveness for their sins.

Tens of thousands of Catholics had gathered for the Easter Mass in this special year.

Source: BBC

16, April 2025

Cameroonian youth urged to embrace hope despite multiple challenges ⁰

Over the weekend, several dioceses in Cameroon, comprising Kumbo, Douala, Edéa, and Buea, celebrated the Diocesan 40th World Youth Day and entrance into Holy Week in each of their dioceses. The three-day event was a powerful demonstration of the capacity of young people to mobilize and reinvigorate the Church’s mission in Africa and the world.

More than a traditional annual event, the celebration of the 2025 edition of World Youth Day in Cameroon was a lively occasion ushering-in Holy Week.

The Diocese of Kumbo, located in the English-speaking part of Cameroon saw a long procession of young people carrying palms during the liturgical celebration. Saint Sylvester’s College of Sop was the convergence point and gathering place for thousands of young people who in unison acclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of Mary.”

Accompany Christ to Jerusalem

In his introductory speech, the Bishop of the Diocese of Kumbo, Bishop George Nkuo, urged the youth, in his diocese, to work and walk together not as a confused, agitated, and disorderly crowd pushing Jesus on the path of His Passion, but as a people marching with a clear purpose: “to accompany Christ to Jerusalem, to walk with the Savior, and to experience the power of our redemption.”

In the Archdiocese of Douala, thousands of the Diocese’s young people also gathered around Archbishop Samuel Kleda to close the Archdiocesan three-year Synod for Youth, which first convened in September 2022. The Archbishop published an exhortation for this occasion.

Following the three-year Synod, the Archdiocese of Douala has since made recommendations designed to address pertinent issues arising from the three-year process.

Meetings of communion and friendship

4,000 youths from the Archdiocese of Yaoundé also spent two days and two nights on pilgrimage at the Saint Peter and Paul Parish in Nsimalen, guided by their chaplains and mentors.

In the Diocese of Edéa, hundreds of young people spent three days at the Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Dyzangue under the guidance of Bishop Jean Bosco Ntep and diocesan youth chaplains.

Speaking at the end of this gathering, Father Bikéna Tonyè emphasised that theirs was “a meeting of communion, friendship, and knowledge of the Word of God. We invited the youth to be optimistic in a context that we know is difficult. They must persevere and hope for better tomorrows,” the Bishop urged.

Stay steadfast in faith and hope

And finally, in the Diocese of Buea, the youth gathered on a Sunday with Bishop Michael Bibi at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral, an event that coincided with the continued celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of this Diocese.

Bishop Bibi called on the youth to embrace greater commitment to the Church and to “proclaim Christ with pride in word and deed: learn to become exemplary leaders, steadfast in faith, despite the multiple challenges that confront you, and imitate the spirit of obedience of Christ,” he said.

Source: Vatican News

15, April 2025

Pope Francis transfers Cameroonian-born Nigerian Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia ⁰

Pope Francis has transferred Cameroonian-born Archbishop Brian Udaigwe, who has been serving as Apostolic Nuncio in Sri Lanka to Ethiopia.

The Addis Ababa-based Apostolic Nunciature has been vacant since May 2024, when the Holy Father transferred Archbishop Antoine Camilleri to Cuba.

The latest appointment of Archbishop Udaigwe, a Nigerian national who previously served as the representative of the Holy Father in Benin and Togo was made public on Saturday, April 12, by the Holy See Press Office.

Born in Brian in July 1964 in Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea, Archbishop Udaigwe was ordained a Priest in May 1992 for the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Nigeria.

He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1994. The holder of a Doctorate in Canon Law served in the Apostolic Nunciatures in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Bulgaria, Thailand, as well as in the United Kingdom before he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio.

While Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Benin in February 2013, assigning him the Titular See of Suelli, his Episcopal Consecration on 27 April 2013 took place at the start of Pope Francis’ Papacy.

Archbishop Udaigwe, who officially presented his credentials in Benin in June 2013 was the following month appointed the representative of the Holy Father in Togo.

Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to Sri Lanka in June 2020.

Source: AciAfrica

10, April 2025

Kumbo Diocese issues “urgent alert” on human trafficking surge ⁰

Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Kumbo, which is part of Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province, located in the country’s conflict-affected North West region has issued an “urgent alert” on a surge of human trafficking in the Episcopal See.

In a statement shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, April 8, the Coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in the Cameroonian Catholic Diocese says that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region’s crises, “keep changing their strategies.”

“The Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese have been sensitizing us on issues of trafficking over the years,” Sr. Minkoue Falie says.

In the statement dated April 4 and titled, “An urgent alert on the situation of human trafficking in the Diocese of Kumbo”, Sr. Falie observes, “The ongoing crises in the two Anglophone regions have increased vulnerability, unemployment, and hardship in our communities. Traffickers are taking advantage of this, and the rate of human trafficking has drastically increased in the past years.”

“We write once again to call your attention to the growing phenomenon of human trafficking taking roots in our diocese,” the Cameroonian member of the Congregation de Notre-Dame (CND) says, encouraging families whose members have fallen victim to human trafficking to report the matter “as a matter of urgency”.

The Justice and Peace Commission Coordinator continues, “Many of our sons and daughters, friends, and relatives were promised jobs in big companies and are now stranded in Togo, Nigeria, Ghana, etc., always demanding more money for one thing or another as we write.”

“As a matter of urgency, we call on any family whose child or children have fallen victim to get in touch with the Diocesan Justice and Peace Office as soon as possible with useful information to enable the office to respond to this worrying issue,” Sr. Falie says in the one-page statement addressed to the people of God in the Diocese of Kumbo.

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions plunged into conflict in 2016 after a protest by lawyers and teachers turned violent. An armed movement of separatists claiming independence for the so-called republic of Ambazonia emerged following the government’s crackdown on protesters.

School boycotts have become common in the Cameroonian region as have enforced moratoriums on public life known as “ghost towns”.

According to a March 2025 report, Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis “has caused over 900,000 people to flee internally and 60,000 people to flee abroad.”

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The report indicates that “as of February 2025, more than 500,000 internally displaced people were in Anglophone-majority regions.”

The UNHCR has reported that the Central African nation plays host to over 400,000 refugees primarily coming from the Central African Republic (CAR), Nigeria, Chad, and Niger; more than 17,000 asylum seekers; and over 1 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) “with an additional 658,544 returnees.”

More than 3.3 million people stand in need of humanitarian aid in Cameroon.

In recent years, however, there have been reported instances of former separatist fighters laying down arms, transitioning into professional careers, and advocating for peace.

Source: ACI Africa

6, April 2025

Pope greets crowds at Vatican in first appearance since leaving hospital ⁰

Pope Francis made a surprise entrance to St. Peter’s Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick and health workers on Sunday, marking his first public appearance at the Vatican since his release from the hospital two weeks ago.

The pontiff waved at the crowd that stood and applauded as he was rolled unannounced to the front of the altar in the square.

“Good Sunday to everyone,’’ Francis said, speaking into a microphone, which he tapped to make sure it was working on a second attempt. “Thank you very much.”

The pontiff’s voice sounded stronger than when he addressed well-wishers outside of Gemelli hospital on the day of his release March 23, after battling life-threatening pneumonia during a five-week hospital stay. He has just completed two weeks of at least two months of doctor-ordered rest as he continues physical, respiratory and speech therapy, as well as treatment for a lingering lung infection.

The pope referred to his experience with illness in both the traditional Sunday blessing and the homily read by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organiser of the Holy Year that is expected to bring some 30 million pilgrims to Rome.

Addressing the sick among the crowd, the pope said in the homily read by Fisichella that “In this moment of my life I share a lot: the experience of infirmity, feeling weak, depending on the others for many things, needing support.

“It is not easy, but it is a school in which we learn every day to love and to let ourselves be loved, without demanding and without rejecting, without regretting, without despairing, grateful to God and to our brothers for the good that we receive, trusting for what is still to come.”

He also urged the faithful not to push the fragile from their lives “as unfortunately a certain mentality does today. Let’s not ostracise pain from our surroundings. Let’s instead make it an opportunity to grow together, to cultivate hope.”

In the traditional Sunday blessing, he offered prayers for doctors, nurses and health care workers “who are not always helped to work in inadequate conditions, at times the victims of aggression. Their mission is not easy and must be supported and respected.”

Source: AP