Muslims in Cameroon have marked the Eid al-Adha, Festival of the Sacrifice, by praying for an end to the country’s separatist conflict, which has killed more than 3,000 people since 2017. Muslim leaders also called on Cameroon’s vaccine skeptics to be inoculated against COVID-19, which has infected more than 80,000 people and killed at least 1,300.

Muslim cleric Bouba Goi Goi officiating Eid al-Adha prayers at the Islamic Complex in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé, said in his sermon that all Muslims should live lives of complete submission to God to enjoy eternal life, both physical on earth and spiritual in heaven with Allah.

Souley Mane is spokesman of Cameroon’s National Moon Crescent Commission that is responsible for announcing the day of Muslim feasts.

He said Bouba asked Cameroonians of all religious denominations to educate civilians on the need for stability in the central African state.

“It is an opportunity for every Muslim to have a spiritual project to pray for peace, security, unity, health and living together in our country. A good Muslim should be an ambassador of his religion, somebody who tries to work harder for his family, for his community and for his country,” he said.

Mane said that the 1,500 people at the prayer complex include Christians.

The Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon organized the prayer for peace.

The council’s coordinator, Moussa Oumarou, said Muslims who are separatist fighters should drop their weapons and encourage their peers of other religions to stop fighting.

Cameroon estimates that there are at least 2,000 separatist fighters in its English-speaking western regions. The government said the number of fighters who are Muslims is unknown since the rebels hide as civilians.

Souleyman Mefire Ngoucheme is imam of the Nkoazoa Mosque located 10 kilometers west of Yaounde. He said besides promoting peace, Muslim cleric in Cameroon also cautioned faithful on the dangers of COVID-19.

He said he is asking all Muslims in Cameroon to respect COVID-19 barrier measures like regular washing of hands with soap and water, putting on face masks in public and keeping a physical distance of at least a meter from other people. Ngoucheme said Muslims should not hesitate to take COVID-19 vaccine because the jab can save their lives and help to stop the coronavirus spread that has killed so many people.

Cameroon said fewer than 150,000 people have been vaccinated since April, when the government received 700,000 doses to inoculate civilians against COVID-19.

Last year during Eid al-Adha, Cameroon restricted prayers and festivities that brought together more than 10 people. Thousands of Muslims in the capital Yaoundé defied the restrictions, ordered as part of measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. This year, many came with face masks but did not respect the at least one meter distance from each person as instructed by the government.

Source: VOA

Father Christopher Eboka who was taken away by unknown gunmen on Friday, May 21, 2021 has been released. Rev Father Eboka’s kidnapping reportedly underscored the need for all the factions involved in the Southern Cameroons conflict to seek ways of reaching a peaceful resolution.

The kidnapping sparked outrage and anger both in French and Southern Cameroons.

Southern Cameroons exiled Vice President Dabney Yerima issued a statement condemning the act while thousands of Ambazonians prayed for his release and against an epidemic of kidnappings sweeping the entire Ambazonian territory.

What we know

The Ambazonia Interim Government announced the release in a statement, saying the priest was unharmed.

The Dabney Yerima statement did not provide information on whether a ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

On May 21, Rev Father Eboka and his rider were abducted while traveling on a road between Mamfe and Eshobi. The kidnappers are suspected members of a criminal gang run by the disgraced Southern Cameroons front line leader Dr Samuel Ikome Sako.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

“I really felt bad that within a period like this when most people, most governments are trying to look for ways and means of combating COVID 19 disease – a virus that is killing and taking away the lives of many people – that people will still have the audacity to embezzle funds of this nature, that is meant for the common good, that is meant to save the lives of people,” said Bishop Michael Bibi of Buea, in Cameroon’s South West Region.

According to the Johns Hopkins COVID portal, over 1,200 people have died of COVID-19 in Cameroon, with more than 77,000 people testing positive.

In the face of such a health emergency, Bibi said it was evil for people to steal money.

“To say the least, this is inhuman. It is not correct, and I think that the Cameroonian government should do proper investigation and the people who are responsible should be brought to justice. We cannot allow things like this to go ahead because it is not proper. Humanly speaking, it is bad,” he told Crux.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Health has come under fire for its poor transparency in the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars of COVID aid, with members of the opposition and some international aid agencies accusing members of the government of embezzlement.

In the face of the mounting scrutiny, Cameroonian President Paul Biya earlier this year instructed the Justice Ministry to investigate.

Meanwhile, 23-page report by the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court that was leaked in the local press on May 20 reveals disturbing facts about the way the $382 million of COVID funds were managed.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was overbilled at ten times the expected rate, and there was no public bidding for contracts. Some contracts were allegedly given to “ghost companies” that didn’t actually exist.

Over $11 million was budgeted for the local manufacture of chloroquine and azithromycin. Instead, the heal ministry imported the drugs from India and repackaged them in Cameroon.

Renovation work on facilities meant to welcome COVID-19 patients was not completed – only seven of eleven facilities were completed.

“The conditions under which the special contracts were awarded remain unknown to the Audit Bench of the Supreme Court, which reflects a certain opacity in the awarding of contracts, and which affected most of the contracts,” the report states.

The Audit Bench accused the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation of 30 management errors, and recommends ten legal proceedings that could end up as criminal investigations.

The ministries have denied wrongdoing.

Bibi said the government must pursue these cases.

“Corruption thrives when there is little follow up to bring the culprits to justice,” the bishop said.

He said conversion of hearts is the only way the problem can be rooted out of the country.

“Corruption is something that is common and I think that we all have to fight against corruption; we all have to educate ourselves that whatever position we have in the Church, in the government, and if we have funds that are given to us  for the common good, we should use it for the common good,” he told Crux.

“We should not think about our individual benefits or what is going to benefit our family members and friends, we should think about the common good. For me I think that is key, and my prayer and wish is that we should be converted from this attitude of corruption, because if we are not converted, the country will never develop, things will never move properly,” Bibi said.

Source: Crux

A priest of the diocese of Mamfe in the Southwest region of Cameroon has been kidnapped as the fighting in Southern Cameroons rages on and enters a critical phase.

Father Christopher Eboka was taken away by unknown gunmen on Friday, May 21, 2021 who have requested a huge ransom from the diocese. The kidnapping of members of the clergy is unfortunate and this underscores the need for all the factions involved in the conflict to seek ways of reaching a peaceful resolution.

The Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Mbonge has spoken with Father Christopher’s mother who is very devastated and is urging those responsible for the priest’s kidnapping to release him so that he can continue with the great job he has been doing.

Kidnapping a priest is not only despicable, it is the height of irresponsibility and the Cameroon Concord News Group is joining its voice to that of the mother of father Christopher Eboka to urge the kidnappers to release the man of God.

Those who kidnap men of God are crossing a dangerous red line and this must be condemned by all god-fearing Cameroonians.

The clergy in the two English-speaking regions of the country has been playing a significant role since the Southern Cameroons crisis started in 2016 with the objective of engineering a lasting peace in the two English-speaking regions of the country and to help alleviate the suffering of the population.

Over the last two weeks, the fighting in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of the country had escalated, with army soldiers taking huge casualties.

Southern Cameroonian fighters who started out with dane guns have morphed into manufacturers of effective Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) which are sending many army soldiers to an early grave.

While the army soldiers have been brutal and successful in outgunning Southern Cameroonian fighters due to their superior weaponry, the use of IEDs by Southern Cameroonian fighters over the last year has left the government in an unfortunate quandary.

In the country’s northwest region where the fighting is escalating on a daily basis, the IEDs have been going off every day and many uniformed officers have not had the luck to return to their families.

The military has lost many of its fighting equipment and these new strategy developed by the Southern Cameroonian fighters has left many army soldiers with tones of butterflies in their stomachs.

The morale among the soldiers is down and many of them, especially those who have been to the battlefield, understand that this war will never be won on the battlefield, as Southern Cameroonian fighters have become deadlier and more determined to push the military out of Southern Cameroons.

Many of the young soldiers are from poor backgrounds and they need the salary from the military, but their belief in a conclusive military victory is diminishing on a daily basis as news of their wounded and dead colleagues spreads across the country like wildlife.

Many of those army soldiers would jump at any opportunity that would get them out of the military, but Cameroon is a country that is bereft of jobs and opportunities. The young soldiers are now caught between the rock and a hard place.

If they refuse to go to Southern Cameroons where Southern Cameroonian fighters are delivering death to many soldiers for free, they will end up in jail for a long time. If they head to Southern Cameroons, they are sure they will not be coming back to East Cameroon, or if they must return, it will either be in a body bag or with debilitating injuries that will make entirely dependent on their family members.

The situation in Southern Cameroons is dire. The world has to wake up from its sleep. The fighting in that part of the country has escalated and very many young Cameroonians are losing their lives because a government ruled by old and ailing leaders is still seeing negotiations as a weakness.

If the world does not stand up against the brutality playing out in Southern Cameroons now, it will one day regret its decision, as many young lives are being wasted due to the inflated ego of people who have prioritized war over peace.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Sounds of gunfire interrupted an anniversary Mass for the bishop of Kumbo, in Cameroon’s troubled North West Region.

Bishop George Nkuo was marking the 40th anniversary of his priestly ordination on the premises of St. Augustine College Nso on May 7 when gunshots were heard, sending participants to the ground. There had been an exchange of fire between government troops and separatist rebels near the facility.

The North West Region and the South West Region are the English-speaking parts of Cameroon, and a separatist revolt against the majority French-speaking central government has been raging for nearly five years.

Among the people attending the event were Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda and Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, the regional governor.

“The government is determined to bring long lasting peace in this division and in the whole region,” L’Afrique said afterwards.

“No stone will be left unturned to bring normalcy to Bui Division [the larger region surrounding the city] and to the city of Kumbo. The pacification effort of the administrative authorities, the operation to secure the division and the whole region will continue and will be stepped up to face the present situation,” he added.

Cecilia Vernyuy, a member of the Catholic Women’s Association, attended the anniversary Mass, and said the congregation was frightened by the gunfire.

“We all went lying on the ground,” she told Crux. “It was scary. It was as if the Church had come under attack.”

During his homily, Nkea said the exchange of gunfire so near the Mass showed the closeness Nkuo had with his people in Kumbo.

“The bishop is exercising his ministry especially as chief Shepherd of the Diocese of Kumbo in these difficult times,” the archbishop said.

“And we are witnesses to the fact that he is close to his sheep, he is standing near to his sheep and he is ready to die for his sheep, and this is a very big testimony to the Gospel message which he is preaching to the people and which is given out to the world,” he continued.

“The goodness of the shepherd is seen in his willingness and readiness to lay down his life for his sheep and this is a sign that the good shepherd’s first quality is to love his sheep … We have seen this love through our people and his readiness to lay down his life in his 40 years of service in priesthood.”

In his own remarks, Nkuo used the occasion to make the case for peace in his troubled region.

“Jesus Christ tells us that he is the Way, the Truth and the Light, and we need to be able to face the truth as it is, we need to be able to look at each other and say, ‘I am sorry’ and reconcile. Each of us must be able to look at his or her neighbor and say this is my brother, this is my sister,” the prelate said.

“My celebration in the heart of this reassures me that it is possible, if only we can break down the pride, and cultivate the love for truth and justice, and to care for one another.”

During a brief meeting about the security situation in Kumbo, Mayor Vernatius Mborong said the separatists have made life “very unbearable” for the people of the city.

“As I speak, there are six of my workers who were taken to the bush just four days ago. And you can bear with me that living under these kinds of circumstances is not easy. You cannot walk in town. You are moving somewhere, you look left, you look right. What kind of life is that? We are going through hell,” he said.

Vernyuy, the member of the CWA who attended the Mass, said all she needs is for peace to return to the community.

“All sides should put down the guns. All are dying on all sides, both military and separatists. They are all delivered by women,” she told Crux.

“We are crying for our land and we are also crying for our children. All of them are delivered by women. A woman can never abandon her child. All we pray for is that peace should return,” she added.

Political analyst Edwin Ebako says the government’s military-first approach to the Anglophone crisis is misguided, and lengthening the conflict.

“Before, the government knew that they were going to crack the separatists down using the military, but that method has not worked,” he told local news channel, Equinox TV.

“And every time the government has tried to use the wrong procedure that has only given the boys (separatists) room to evolve,” he added.

“When this issue began in 2016, the government would have known and would have quelled down this issue before it escalated. The crisis is only going to intensify if the government does not directly address the root causes of this problem and get into an all-inclusive dialogue to resolve the problem genuinely for the interest of the people of this nation,” Ebako said.

Source: Angelusnews

Several Catholic bishops in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions are sharply criticizing President Paul Biya’s violent, years long campaign to quell an independence movement in those regions. In recent NCR interviews, three prelates suggested that Biya’s government had initially underestimated the growing influence of those calling for the creation of a new, separate state and then responded with disproportionate force. Retired Archbishop Cornelius Fontem Esua, who led Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese from 2006 to 2019, said Biya had erred drastically in late 2017 when he pledged to “eliminate” independence fighters. “Violence only begets violence,” Esua told NCR. “The moment the government started using live bullets on peaceful protesters, it was evident that things would simply go out of hand.”

Africa-Cameroon.jpg

The conflict had erupted in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions earlier in 2017 when protests against new government-appointed judges in the regions turned violent. As government forces responded with lethal force, tensions mounted and many English speakers in the predominantly French-speaking country started asking for independence. The ensuing conflict between separatist fighters and government forces has killed at least 3,000 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates that at least 460,000 have been forced to flee the affected areas, with tens of thousands seeking refuge in neighboring Nigeria. The Catholic bishops said the government has been too violent in its response to those seeking to form an English-speaking state. Esua said Biya’s 2017 pledge effectively made clear that “anybody who identified himself with the Anglophone cause was considered a terrorist.” After two years of fighting between the two sides, Biya called for a one-week “Major National Dialogue,” held Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2019. However, the president said the dialogue would not only consider the insurgency but also “issues of national interest such as national unity, national integration and living together.” Bishop George Nkuo, who has headed the Kumbo Diocese in the Northwest Region since 2006, said that approach was wrong because it didn’t address the urgency of the Anglophone problem. Nkuo said the forum should have been used to discuss the Anglophone problem and not all the problems of the nation. He said it was necessary to use that dialogue to revisit the root causes of the conflict as the only possible way of bringing forth a sustainable solution. And the causes of the problem, he said, are rooted in Cameroon history. Initially colonized by Germany in 1884, Cameroon would be divided between Britain and France after the defeat of the Germans in World War I. Britain got one-fifth of the formerly German territory, which it administered as part of Nigeria until 1961 — when through a plebiscite, the British Southern Cameroons (as the British administered entity of Cameroon was then called) voted to reunite with the part formerly administered by France (which had gained its independence in 1960). The two entities went into a federal structure of government, with each entity allowed to freely run its affairs in line with the systems inherited from the colonial powers. But in recent years, some people in the English-speaking regions had accused the central government of trying to quash their traditions.

Tobin_View_of_the_Cathedral CROP.jpg

A view of the Catholic cathedral of Kumbo, in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest Region In 2016, four Catholic bishops in the English-speaking regions accused Biya’s government of trying to strangle their culture. “Anglophone Cameroonians are slowly being asphyxiated as every element of their culture is systematically targeted and absorbed into the Francophone Cameroon culture and way of doing things,” they wrote at the time. Nkuo said the 2019 dialogue should have revisited these historical perspectives to come up with the right answers to the problem. The current archbishop of Bamenda, Andrew Nkea Fuanya, criticized the format of the dialogue, saying it didn’t involve the appropriate representatives of the English-speaking regions. “That wasn’t a dialogue at all,” Fuanya told NCR. Esua was invited to participate in the dialogue. “To be frank, it was a monologue,” he said. “In a dialogue, you take two people to dialogue. And in a dialogue, you have different opinions. You have to listen to the other person and the other person listens to you, and gradually you come to an agreement.” “Ninety percent of the participants at the National Dialogue were all government people, or people with government allegiance, but the real persons with whom you had to dialogue were not there,” said Esua. Separatist leaders weren’t part of the dialogue. Sesseku Ayuk Tabe, the recognized leader of the movement to form a new country of Ambazonia, was arrested in 2018 and is now serving a life sentence. “You couldn’t talk of a dialogue if these people weren’t there,” Esua said of the separatist leaders’ absence at the negotiating table. Nevertheless, the dialogue came up with a number of recommendations, including the adoption of a special status for the two Anglophone regions, the immediate relaunch of certain airport and seaport projects in the regions, the rapid integration of ex-combatants into society, and a hastening of decentralization of power away from the central government.

Esua said none of these recommendations responds to the demands of Cameroon’s English speakers.

“The whole problem of Cameroon and the sociopolitical situation in the Northwest and Southwest regions is about the form of government. It’s about the two systems of education, it’s about the two systems of law, the two systems of administration. That was not part of the discussion,” the cleric told NCR.

He said he was frustrated that a “special status” for Anglophone regions should even come up as a recommendation, since it’s something already enshrined in the country’s 1996 Constitution.

“It’s not a question of a special status, because it’s not a gift they are giving to the Anglophones. The Anglophones have a right to organize themselves according to their customs and cultures as inherited from the British,” said Esua.

He also blasted the recommendation about hastening the decentralization process, noting that it was paradoxical that the government keeps the centralized structures in place and continues talking about decentralization.

“I’m afraid they are not giving the right solutions to the problem,” said the retired archbishop.

Culled from ncronline.org

The Primate of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon and other clerics of the Christian Church have expressed their prayerful condolences on the death of Most Revered Nyansako Ni Nku, Emeritus Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC).

The office of the Synod Clerk in Buea, Southern Cameroons said the pastors of the entire PCC were saddened by the news of his passing as he held, over many years, several roles of leadership and responsibility in the PCC and also in the All African Conference of Churches (AACC).

Cameroon Concord News understands that for many years Rev. Nyansako Ni Nku served the PCC faithfully in a number of pastoral responsibilities and was elected president of the AACC in 2003.

“At this sad time for Rev. Nyansako Ni Nku’s family, we pray for all those who mourn him and for the happy repose of his soul,” Leonie Awu a member of PCC Bastos Yaoundé contacted by Cameroon Concord News said.

The Most Revered Nyansako Ni Nku, who was Moderator of the PCC from 1999-2009, was one of the most prophetic voices within the Cameroonian Christian Church alongside the late Roman Catholic Cardinal, Christian Tumi.

In his homilies, he will always say “Quit the stage when the ovation is loudest! Do not leave when the people no longer want you.”

Though he reportedly died in Douala on Tuesday April 27, 2021, Nyansako Ni Nku lived the latter years of his retirement in the South West Region.

No date has been made public for the funeral of the man who raised the profile of the PCC at home and abroad.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The late Archbishop Emeritus of Douala His Eminence Cardinal Christian Tumi, has embarked on his final journey home to rest. The funeral ceremony of the 91-year-old cleric, who died on Saturday, April 3, 2021 in Douala, is spread over two days.

The funeral rites started today Monday at 11am at the Douala Military Hospital in the Bonanjo district in Douala. The vigil mass will be held at 8pm at the Cathedral of Saints Paul and Peter in Bonadibong, and a Eucharistic Celebration on Tuesday 20 April 2021 at 10am.

All the bishops of Cameroon have converged in Douala, after they recently met at the 46th Plenary Assembly of the National Episcopal Conference in Yaoundé.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Abraham Kome, Bishop of Bafang and President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, expressed the sorrow of the entire Church of Cameroon, following the passing to eternity of His Eminence Cardinal Christian Tumi and invited the Bishops and all Christians to continue to pray to the Risen Lord to open the gates of the Kingdom to this dedicated pastor.

By Rita Akana in Douala

As millions of Muslims commenced the Ramadan fasting, the leader of the Ambazonian nation and head of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe shared a warm message to welcome the holy month expressing wishes to all Muslims in Southern Cameroons and around the world.

To the Muslim community,

Dear brothers and sisters of the Muslim community,

During this Holy month of Ramadan, know that we are together. As you sacrifice in fasting and prayer, it is our hope that Allah will meet you/us at the point of need. He is faithful and will give our people the freedom they deserve. Be strong and courageous in the pursuit of the goals that you set for yourself, your family and our nation, insha’Allah. Amen

Ramadan Mubarak

Sisiku AyukTabe

Baptisms, first Communions, confirmation and convalidation of a marriage.

All happened one day last August at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul among members of the Larry and Judith Ngonu family. The couple and their oldest of three sons, Joe Carlyn, are natives of Cameroon. They were strengthened by their faith in a long path to the United States and full communion with the Catholic Church.

The journey was made as a close, strong and persevering family, one that prays the rosary together every evening.

“You pray a rosary with all your heart, you will see like miracles,” Judith said. “The boys will remind me that it’s time to pray.”

A lottery win in 1999 enabled Larry, then a resident of Cameroon, to start a path to a new life. No, he didn’t win a large cash prize. He won the chance to move to the United States and pursue education and career opportunities. And raise a family.

Judith, who married Larry in a civil ceremony during a brief visit that he made to Cameroon after he emigrated, would say that her biggest “win” happened last summer, when the couple’s marriage was convalidated on the same day their three sons received sacraments including first Communion.

“That was my best day ever,” she said.

Larry won his immigration opportunity through the U.S.-sponsored Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Winning applicants’ names are drawn at random each year. After interviewing for the visa process, choosing a sponsor and waiting for paperwork to be processed, he moved to the U.S. in November 2000.

Jaden, left, and his brother Tyrick lead the procession at the start of Palm Sunday Mass March 28 at Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

As children, Larry, 50, and Judith, 44, were baptized and received the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation in Cameroon, where Judith was also confirmed. Joe Carlyn, 15, was baptized in Cameroon. Larry said his home country has a lot of religions, but the Catholic faith is predominant.

It took about eight years of waiting and paperwork before Judith and Joe Carlyn could join Larry in the U.S. Their two youngest sons, Jaden, 11, and Tyrick, 8, were born in the U.S.

Larry first lived in Minnesota, where he trained to become a nursing assistant. He moved to Maryland, where he completed his education to become a nurse, and then back to Minnesota.

Living in Maplewood today, the family felt welcomed when they visited Blessed Sacrament. “People said ‘welcome, where are you from?’” Judith said, adding that it quickly felt like home.

All five attended the Rite of Initiation of Catholic Adults (and Children) at Blessed Sacrament starting in fall 2019 as they prepared to receive more sacraments.

Connie Hill, faith formation director at Blessed Sacrament, described the Ngonus as a fervent and faith-filled family that perseveres.

“It was so humbling and such an honor to work with them because they were so faithful and so committed to the many preparations,” she said. She noted “all the things that the boys did” to complete the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and prepare for their sacraments.

Because the COVID-19 pandemic canceled Easter Masses in 2020, the Ngonus were unable to receive sacraments at the Easter Vigil. But the pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Father Benny Mekkatt, a member of the Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception who is known to parishioners as Father Benny, held a special Mass for the family and their guests last August, and administered sacraments.

Ngonu family members and friends from Maryland and Ohio attended the church service celebrating the convalidation of Judith and Larry’s marriage and to see Larry confirmed, the two younger boys baptized and all three boys receive their first Communion. “It was a beautiful celebration,” Father Benny said. “It was a great thing,” Larry added.

Judith said she felt a big change that day physically, spiritually and emotionally. “I was so happy standing in front of God, to watch all those things,” she said.

After the service and to help prevent spread of the novel coronavirus in the midst of the pandemic, the family and guests celebrated with a socially distanced barbecue in a local park.

Joe Carlyn will be confirmed in May. The other four family members usually attend his confirmation classes because they follow Sunday Mass and it’s a chance to learn more, Judith said.

The two youngest boys serve at Mass every other Sunday, and they assisted with Stations of the Cross during Lent. Larry said he served at Mass when he was younger; he and his wife explained to their children that it was a privilege to serve.

Coming all the way from Africa, the journey was not easy for the family, Father Benny said. “But they persevere with a strong faith and also to keep their faith strong and bring that beautiful tradition from back home and bring up the children in a strong faith,” he said.

Asked what it means to be Catholic, Larry said that with Christianity in general, it means feeling close to God. “It builds you up, it makes you stronger,” he said. “It gives you a moral compass. It helps you do the right thing.”

Judith described frequently praying to Mary and the saints, such as St. Jude when facing difficult situations, and praying the rosary together as a family each evening. Larry joins when he is not working.

“I think God is your companion, like my everything,” Judith said. “When I need something, I just go down on my knees. When I want to do anything, I’m like, please God, just show me the direction. And he always answers my prayers.”

Culled from The Catholic Spirit