From Shisong to Rome, from parish work to priestly formation, a Capuchin friar looks back on a life shaped by faith, people and service.
Rev. Fr. Dufe Joseph Ndzelen is celebrating 25 years of priestly ministry, marking a journey that began with his ordination on 28 April 2000 and has since taken him across Cameroon and beyond.
The silver jubilee was first observed on Saturday, 27 December 2025 at the Scholasticate of the Conceptionists in Nkolbisson, near the Catholic University in Yaounde. Further celebrations followed on 3 January 2026 at St John Parish, Foncha Street in Bamenda, with another gathering later held in Kumbo.
Born and nurtured in faith within the Shisong Christian community, Fr. Dufe traces his vocation to early family guidance and the influence of the Capuchins, who arrived in Cameroon in 1982. He joined the Order in 1991 and describes his formation as “a series of discoveries, of people, mission, places and of God.”
Reflecting on his ministry, he says priesthood is “a life filled with challenges,” but one sustained by grace. “I answered a definitive yes on 28 April 2000. The priesthood is a gift from God, and it goes on because the Lord is always with us.”
His pastoral path has included service in St Theresia’s Parish Sop, studies in Rome from 2004 to 2006, twelve years of teaching in the seminary, parish work in Bafoussam and Big Babanki, and leadership roles including First Vicar for Religious in the Diocese of Kumbo. He now serves in Loreto, where he says the confessional remains “a serious school of formation.”
Fr. Dufe insists the jubilee is not about personal praise. “If I am celebrating 25 years, I am celebrating the people who have shaped my life and those whose lives I have touched. That is fraternity, that is community.”
As he looks ahead, he says much work remains. “The harvest awaits many, but all honour goes to God.”
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Online
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