Pope asks Cameroon's pastoral workers to live in spirit of service

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to Cameroon's small army of pastoral workers and asked them to "reveal the loving face of God to the poor" through their efforts.

The pope led an evening prayer liturgy March 18 at the Basilica of Mary Queen of the Apostles in a hillside neighborhood of Yaounde, the nation's capital. The basilica, a Marian sanctuary, marks the site of the first church built by missionaries to the African country more than a century ago.

Some 3,500 people packed the church. Most of them were priests and nuns, joined by deacons, members of church movements and representatives of other Christian communities.

The pope smiled when he walked briskly down the main aisle, delivering blessings left and right as digital cameras flashed around him. A whoop of joy rang out when his gift to the church, a gilded votive lamp in the form of five roses, was held aloft.

The pope's homily focused on the figure of St. Joseph, whose feast was to be celebrated the next day. St. Joseph, the pope said, remains a model for all pastoral workers precisely because he lived his life in service to God's will.

Although not the biological father of Jesus, St. Joseph lived fatherhood "fully and completely," the pope said.

"To be a father means above all to be at the service of life and growth. St. Joseph, in this sense, gave proof of great devotion. For the sake of Christ he experienced persecution, exile and the poverty which this entails," he said.

St. Joseph also loved Mary with great respect, appreciating the mystery that was unfolding in her, the pontiff said. He teaches people how to love without possessing, he added.

In that sense, he said, St. Joseph also inspires all pastoral workers today to be attentive to those around them and to God's plan.

"May you reveal the loving face of God to the poor, especially by your works of mercy, your human and Christian education of young people, your programs for the advancement of women and in so many other ways," the pope said.

Part of pastoral ministry is self-sacrifice, he said. He held out as an example a 20th-century Cameroonian priest, Father Simon Mpeke, known as "Baba Simon," who lived as a missionary in northern Cameroon among "Kirdi" or "unbelievers." He found much to admire in their culture as he evangelized them.

"All of you know how this 'barefooted missionary' spent all his energies with selfless humility in the loving service of souls, heedless of the cares and sufferings involved in the material service of others," the pope said.

As he left the church, the crowd broke into dance and song.

Cameroon has experienced a large increase in the numbers of priests and religious in recent decades and has one of the highest vocations rates in Africa. The country has 2,847 priests, or one for every 2,622 Catholics. By far the largest category of pastoral workers in Cameroon, however, is catechists, who number 18,700.

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CAMEROON-CHURCH Mar-18-2009 (510 words) With photos. xxxi
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