The Catholic Church in Cameroon in Africa rejoices over a son in a country recognized by the Church as "the Venerable".
G. Tran Duc Anh, OP | RVA
It is Father Simon Mpecke, better known as Baba Simon, who roamed the mountains of northern Cameroon in the 1960s and 1970s proclaiming the Gospel and sharing the lives of the poor, the sick, and the oppressed, especially the ethnic Kirdi, who are non-Muslimized in an area with a majority of the population.
Father Simon Mpecke was issued a decree last May 20 by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, recognizing that he had exercised Christian virtues to a heroic degree, and with the decree In this case, I am recognized as the “Venerable One”.
Father Simon Mpecke proclaimed the Good News to the Kirdi people, all the way to the coast, namely in the territory of the Diocese of Edéa, where he was buried.
The news that the publication of this decree coincides with the National Day of Cameroon, is of great joy, especially in the Diocese of Edea. At the Bishop's Palace, in front of the diocesan offices, a large stone monument was placed in memory of Baba Simon. Joy was also expressed in the village of Batombé, where Father Simon was born, and also in the Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo, which had applied for his beatification.
In the interview, Bishop Jean-Bosco Ntep, Bishop of the Diocese of Edea, said all Christians and faithful in Cameroon "are delighted to know that one of the children of our Church has been honored. attend that. It also means that, in ordinary life, we too can be recognized and rewarded by the almighty Father, speaking according to the virtues of Jesus.”
Bishop Ntep said: “I only met Baba Simon once or twice. The first time I was at Bone Pupa Seminary, he came to visit us, when he returned from Marouna... Father had a difficult time with the authorities. They accused him of being too zealous in defending the Kirdi people against Muslim domination. Baba Simon is also very funny, sometimes joking and laughing. The second time I met him, when they brought him back from Europe to the rectory in Edea, he was ill. Two days later, my father passed away."
Bishop Ntep said he was honored to be a member of the Society of Priests of Jesus Caritas, founded by Father Simon in Cameroon, whereby he learned about his biography. According to the Bishop, the recognition of the heroic virtues of Father Simon Mpecke is an encouragement to Christians in Africa and Cameroon, to be faithful to saying "yes" to God and to faith. Today, there are slanders of Christianity, due to many currents of thought: they accuse the Church of wrongs in Africa, such as slavery, colonization, etc., and they say that “faith is only is an excuse to deceive Africans”. Contrary to that attitude, Father Simon Mpecke is an apostle of dialogue between Christianity and the traditional religions of Africa. The traditional religions here are related to Christianity, in terms of recognizing God as the oldest, the greatest.