On 20th October 2013, a mission of the Polish Province in Cameroon gained a status of a delegature. It counts 14 sisters who carry out their apostolate in four communities in different parts of Cameroon: Doumé, Nkol-Avolo, Bafoussam and Yaounde – the capital. For the ceremony of the erection of a delegature, which took place in Doume, Provincial superior Sr. Bernadetta Turecka and Sr. Małgorzata Wyrodek, vicaress came from Poland. The Holy Mass, celebrated in the chapel of our convent in Doumé at 11.00 o’clock, was presided by His Excellence Mgr Jan Ozga and concelebrated by Fr. Maurice Ateba SAC, Head of the Spiritual Centre of John XXIII in Yaounde.
At the beginning, Sr. Weronika Sakowska presented a short history of Pallottine Missionary Sisters’ presence in Cameroon, which began in 1892 and was ended by the First World War, when German missionaries were forced to return to their country in 1916. Over a 100 years later, in 1998, Pallottine Sisters again found themselves in Cameroon to start their apostolic work in Doumé, where they were invited by Mgr Jan Ozga, Bishop of Doumé – Abong Mbang.
Next Sr. Bernadetta read a decree establishing a Delegature of the Polish Province in Cameroon, and Sr. Małgorzata handed to Sisters a picture of Blessed John Paul II, who became its Patron. Liturgical animation was conducted by our novices and candidates, supported by seminarians of the Pallottine Fathers. Mgr Ozga in his homily did not hide his emotion springing from the fact that our Congregation was first to establish its formal structure in his diocese. Before the final blessing Sr. Marietta Garbul read a letter of our General Superior Sr. Izabela Świerad with congratulations and good wishes for Sisters of the new Delegature.
Then Sr. Bernadetta announced the composition of the Delegature Administration consisting of: Sr. Grażyna Wojnowska – superior, Sr. Anna Kot – vicaress, Sr. Marietta Garbul, Sr. Fabiana Leitgeber and Sr. Weronika Sakowska – councilors. Mgr Ozga congratulated the Sisters and wished them plentiful gifts of the Holy Spirit. He also gave each of them a special blessing and presented Sr. Grażyna with a large icon of the Merciful Christ.
After the Mass its participants: Mgr Ozga, Fathers, Seminarians, Sisters of the Congregation of Catechists and all Pallottine Sisters met in the sitting-room. There, Sr. Grażyna Wojnowska thanked them for their presence and prayer. They in turn took an opportunity to congratulate Sisters of the Delegature Administration. Then some photos were taken to commemorate such an important event and Sisters invited their guests to the refectory, where a tasty meal cooked by them was already waiting. When the meal was over our novices and candidates appeared dressed in somewhat unusual way. They invited everyone to watch a small performance which they prepared. It was a story of a young Cameroonian woman’s religious vocation which was met with rather vehement opposition by her mother. Both novices and candidates showed they are gifted in acting. The audience had a really good time and often burst into laughter.
On 21st October, during Matins, Sr. Bernadetta received two candidates: Danielle Fokam Noumsi and Nadege Byabi a Yombi to Postulancy. They postulancy was preceded by a longer candidature. Then Fr. Christian SAC celebrated a Holy Mass in the chapel for the intention of the Postulants. Postulants and Novices were invited for breakfast to the sisters’ refectory. They will do their formation in Doumé and Sr. Weronika Sakowska will be responsible for their formation.
On the next day, the very young Delegature celebrated its first Feast, because the liturgical commemoration of blessed John Paul II fell on that day. It was also a day of the first Delegature assembly, that is a meeting of all sisters belonging to it. On 23rd October the Delegature Administration had their meeting and made first decisions concerning communities and other important matters.
How does the apostolate of Pallottine Sisters in Cameroon look like? At present, there are two communities in Doumé: in the bishop’s house and in a nearby convent belonging to our Congregation, which had been built thanks to the kindness of Bishop Ozga and generosity of various organizations as well as individual sponsors. Since 14th September it has been a Novitiate House too where two Cameroonian Sisters Stephanie and Ghislaine are doing their formation. Their Mistress is Sr. Anna Kot. In Doumé, apart from the work in the secretariat, in the bishop’s house and in the Health Centre, sisters are managers of two schools and a kindergarten. They occupy themselves with Heart Adoption and teach in the Pallottine Fathers’ College. The convent is also an official seat of the Delegature. In Nkol-Avolo sisters deal with the Heart Adoption, run an atelier where young women are taught sewing as well as a Health Centre and a kindergarten. In Bafoussam Sr. Anna Sęk is a Principal of College Sacre-Coeur in which – after the construction of a new building – 318 young people study to get commercial training. Sr. Orencja Żak visits inmates of the largest prison in Bafoussam and other sisters help in the pastoral work in St. Albert Parish in Tamdja. In Bafoussam there are also candidates who live close to the sisters’ place and Sr. Anita Łuka is in charge of them. In Yaounde Sr. Hanna Gnatowska and Sr. Marietta Garbul work in John XXIII Spiritual Centre run by Pallottine Fathers.
