Beyond the celebration of nineteen new deacons ordained for service in the Catholic Church, His Lordship Tata John Berinyuy, Auxiliary Bishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese, used his first diaconal ordination to sound a strong warning against what he described as society's growing need for compassion, calling on the newly ordained to become agents of healing for a hurting people.
Presiding over the historic ordination at St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral in Bamenda on Saturday, the Bishop challenged the deacons to measure their ministry not by titles or positions, but by their ability to console the broken, accompany the suffering and remain close to those abandoned by society.
The ordination marked the first diaconal ordination of Bishop Tata John's episcopal ministry and saw nineteen seminarians ordained as deacons. The group comprised eleven candidates from the Archdiocese of Bamenda, one from the Diocese of Bafang and seven members of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin.
Addressing the newly ordained during the homily, Bishop Tata John shifted attention from the grandeur of the liturgical celebration to what he described as the real mission awaiting them outside the cathedral walls.
"The first homily you will ever preach will not come from the pulpit but from the way you live," he told the deacons, stressing that people would encounter Christ through their compassion, integrity and willingness to stand with those in pain.
His message touched on what many observers consider one of the pressing challenges facing communities today, where social hardship, isolation and prolonged crises continue to leave many people in need of hope and human solidarity.
The Bishop urged the new deacons to become ministers whose first instinct is to heal before teaching and to serve before seeking recognition, insisting that authentic Christian leadership begins with compassionate presence.
He further challenged them to become "Eucharistic men," whose lives imitate Christ, who was taken, blessed, broken and given for the salvation of others. He also instructed them to remain faithful to the Liturgy of the Hours, describing prayer not as an obligation but as the foundation of effective ministry.
"No one can give what he has not first received," he reminded them, encouraging the deacons to cultivate a disciplined life of prayer capable of sustaining their service to God's people.
The ancient rite unfolded in an atmosphere of deep reverence as the candidates lay prostrate during the Litany of the Saints before Bishop John laid hands on each one in the Church's sacramental act of ordination. Each deacon later received the Book of the Gospels as a symbol of his commitment to proclaiming the Good News through both word and witness.
The liturgy drew a packed congregation that filled the cathedral beyond capacity. Families, clergy, religious and faithful from across the ecclesiastical province witnessed the ceremony, which concluded in joyful celebration marked by singing, ululation and emotional embraces.
By Bakah Derick with Reports
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