Second Local Ordinary of Cameroon’s Mbalmayo Dies at 86, Eulogized as Tireless Pastor Who “worked for evangelization”

Born in July 1939 in Zoatoubsi in the Catholic Diocese of Obala, Bishop Ndzana was ordained a Priest in August 1969. 

He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Mbalmayo in November 1984, and succeeded the late Bishop Paul Etoga as the Local Ordinary of Mbalmayo in March 1987.

Bishop Ndzana retired in December 2016 at the age of 77.

In his September 7 message, Bishop Ndi-Okalla describes his predecessor as a tireless pastor.

“For 30 years, tirelessly, Bishop Adalbert worked for evangelization in the Diocese of Mbalmayo,” the Catholic Church leader says, adding that the late Bishop’s pastoral ministry “was marked by the education of the faith and the promotion of integral human development.”

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“He committed himself wholeheartedly to works of youth education and healthcare,” Bishop Ndi-Okalla says in his September 7 statement.

He reflects on the late Bishop Ndzana’s episcopal motto, Et veritas liberavit vos (And the truth will set you free), saying that it “profoundly guided his preaching of Christ crucified and his constant invitation to conversion that the Holy Spirit continually brings about in those who have received the Word of God.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.