Joy spilled into the air and colour lit the Futru Parish Church in Bamenda this Thursday, 3 July 2025, as twelve newly ordained priests of the Piarist Order emerged in their gleaming vestments with anointed hands together, spirits transformed, and hearts echoing a single solemn vow: My Lord and my God.
Archbishop Andrew Nkea handing Priestly vestments to the newly ordained
The ordination, presided over by His Grace Andrew Nkea Fuanya, Archbishop of Bamenda, drew an immense and jubilant crowd from across the region and beyond.
Every step of the sacred rite unfolded with rare solemnity and depth. From the solemn prostration during the litany of saints to the laying on of hands by the Archbishop and his brother priests, the rite carried the full weight of Catholic tradition and Apostolic Succession.
One by one, the candidates surrendered their hands to the bishop in a sign of obedience, and the Chrism oil consecrated them as vessels of God’s grace with their hands now set apart to bless, to heal, to sanctify.
The homily delivered earlier by Archbishop Nkea had set a powerful tone, reminding the congregation that vocation is a mystery, not a merit.
“You are not the holiest or the best.God alone knows why He chose you but now that you are chosen, it is Christ who lives in you.” he had told the ordinands.
Click here for article on homily of the Archbishop
With the final prayer of ordination complete, each new priest was vested in fresh liturgical garments being a powerful visual symbol of the change in their lives.
Ordination prayer by Archbishop Nkea As they stepped forward in their white and gold chasubles, the entire church erupted in applause and ululations, a fusion of reverence and cultural celebration.
The newly ordained before the Archbishop
The scene around the Futru Parish Church had turned festive and rich with colour. Uniforms of various cuts and shades filled the parish compound from the proud blue and white of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA), to the deep greens and reds of the Catholic Men’s Association (CMA), and the distinct patterns chosen by families to mark this achievement in the lives of their children. Every fabric told a story of prayer, of perseverance, of joy.
The event, held on the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle, found particular spiritual resonance in Thomas’s declaration of faith “My Lord and my God” a phrase Archbishop Andrew Nkea offered as a collective mantra for the newly ordained. Whether baptising, preaching, or standing at the altar, they are to remember: it is Christ who acts through them.
Twelve were called. Twelve responded. Twelve now walk forth not as their former selves, but as priests forever, configured to Christ, sealed with the Spirit, and sent to serve a Church and a world in need of light.
By Bakah Derick in Futru
Email: hilltopvoicesnewspaper@gmail.com
Tel: 6 94 71 85 77