Held at Saint Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the ordination brought together bishops, clergy, civil authorities and thousands of faithful, with the dual message of responsibility and reconciliation dominating both the homily of the ordaining prelate and the address of the new bishop.
Principal ordaining Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya set the tone by situating the new bishop’s mission within the lived realities of the North West Region, marked by years of socio political strain.
“You are becoming a bishop in the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda where we have been going through a sociopolitical crisis for more than eight years,” Archbishop Nkea said, warning against division and despair. “Your main interest should be how to bring hope to the hopeless, how to preach love among the people, and how to keep God’s people together.”
Framing the episcopal office as one of sacrifice rather than status, he cautioned that “the office to which God has called you is an office of service, of which you will everyday pour out your life… so that your flock may have life and have it in abundance.”
The Archbishop also underscored that the appointment of a bishop is not driven by social or political considerations.
“The choice of a bishop is not like a political appointment… it is solely the choice of God,” he said, adding that the auxiliary bishop has been appointed to respond to growing pastoral needs in the archdiocese.
In a deeply personal acceptance address, Bishop Tata anchored his mission in humility and gratitude, describing his elevation as an act of divine providence.
“I stand here solely by the mysterious providence of a God who calls the weak, sends the willing and sustains the will,” he said.
However, it was his reference to the forthcoming papal visit that gave the strongest forward looking direction to his ministry.
“We look forward with trembling joy to his visit to our province next month. Let us receive him as a messenger of peace, a messenger of reconciliation, a messenger of hope,” the new bishop said, framing the visit as a moment capable of healing both Church and nation.
By aligning his episcopal mission with the anticipated visit of the Pope, Bishop Berinyuy Tata signalled a readiness to leverage the global attention that comes with a papal presence to advance dialogue and unity in the region.
The Archbishop had earlier pointed to this expectation, insisting that a bishop must be “a prophet, witness and servant of hope” and cannot be “a promoter of war, of hatred, of division.”
The ordination also carried strong symbolic weight, taking place on the feast of Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church and of the Bamenda Archdiocese. Archbishop Andrew Nkea described the timing as a “divine choice,” linking the new bishop’s ministry to the virtues of responsibility and fidelity embodied by Saint Joseph.
Beyond symbolism, the appointment responds to concrete pastoral pressures. The Archbishop revealed that he personally requested an auxiliary bishop after years of assessing the needs of the archdiocese, citing a growing Catholic population, the vast territorial spread and his increasing national and international responsibilities.
For the faithful, the emergence of a new auxiliary bishop ahead of a historic papal visit reinforces expectations that the Church will play a more visible role in shaping conversations around peace and social cohesion.
As Bamenda prepares to host one of the key events of the Pope’s April itinerary, the convergence of episcopal ordination and papal anticipation places the local Church at a critical juncture.
With Bishop Tata now joining the episcopal leadership, the message from the cathedral is likely that the path forward lies not in division, but in a renewed commitment to hope, dialogue and the healing of a wounded community.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Web
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