By Charles Igwe
On August 15, as Catholics in Cameroon celebrated the Feast of the Assumption, resounding calls for peace echoed not only from churches across the nation but also from the lips of Pope Francis himself.
Veronica Foy, President of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA) within the Diocese of Buea, a region fraught with challenges in the nation’s Southwest, where English prevails over the more widely spoken French, expressed, “The Assumption instills great hope in us all.” Prior to the celebration, the CWA conducted a nine-day Novena, beseeching for a restoration of peace in Cameroon.
Cameroon grapples with the complex confluence of troubles, including Boko Haram intrusions to the North, a separatist conflict in the west, and an increasing influx of refugees from the neighboring Central African Republic to the east. The nation faces a period of strife and adversity.
The grim realities—marked by extensive casualties and displacement—bear testament to this turmoil. Over six years of separatist conflict, at least 6,000 individuals have lost their lives, with more than a million displaced from their homes, according to the International Crisis Group.
Simultaneously, Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa were responsible for the loss of 339 lives in 2021, a figure just 61 shy of the casualties in 2020.
By the close of December 31, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees identified 358,000 internally displaced people and 117,000 refugees requiring humanitarian aid in Cameroon’s far North, resulting from terrorist activities.
Foy conveyed her prayerful appeal, stating, “We beseech the Virgin Mary to intercede on our behalf, as individuals, families, as a community, as a church, granting our collective wishes. Our plea is particularly directed towards the restoration of peace in the northwest and southwest regions, and indeed, across the entirety of the African continent and the world.”
Pope Francis, during his August 13 Angelus prayer, acknowledged that Cameroon remains a nation “still suffering from violence and war.”
“In unity of prayer with our brethren in Cameroon,” he said, “let us ask, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that God may sustain the hope of the people who have been suffering for years and open paths of dialogue for achieving harmony and peace.”
Foy expressed gratitude for the pope’s words, believing them to carry a profound impact. She emphasized that Pope Francis’s prayer, specifically for Cameroon, would be heard by the Virgin Mary, who is now “the Queen of Heaven and earth.”
Amid Cameroon’s challenges, the Feast of the Assumption was an occasion for CWA members to offer prayers encompassing private intentions, families, youths, peace, and justice—both locally and globally.
In the Kumbo diocese, a focal point of separatist turmoil, Bishop George Nkuo urged the people to engage actively in shaping the outcomes of various actions for the nation’s resolution.
Nkuo underlined that Mary’s role exemplified active involvement and intercession on behalf of others. He encouraged Christians to follow this example, advocating for those marginalized by society, whether the unborn, vulnerable, or refugees.
The Bishop emphasized that Mary’s Assumption signifies the ultimate triumph of good over evil, but underscored that unity against evil is paramount.
Archbishop Jean Mbarga in Yaoundé attributed Cameroon’s multifaceted security challenges, including youth involvement in crime, killings, and migration, to poverty and unemployment.
