Father Francis Wuyen Nchamcham is a priest from the Diocese of Buea, in Cameroon. In late May, he and his fellow priest Father Isaac Auchem came from Cameroon to Cincinnati, to serve with Glenmary in our mission areas.
Please introduce yourself.
I’m Father Francis. I come from the Diocese of Buea. The Diocese of Buea is in Cameroon, in the ecclesiastical province of Bamenda. My bishop’s name is Bishop Michael Bibi, and I was ordained on the 19th of April, 2001, which means that I’ve been a priest for 24 years.
I’m happy to be here with you. It’s a blessing that we have traveled all the way from Cameroon to come and work with Glenmary. I want to thank Glenmary for accepting us to come and be here. And I want to thank my bishop for sending us to come and be here.
How was the experience of the flight?
It’s a long journey all the way from Cameroon. It was a wonderful experience. I’ve been used to spending my holy days in Nigeria. And I thought that was all in all. I never knew that there was a plane which was bigger than what I used to take when I was going to Nigeria. And the experience was really frightful. But it’s an experience that I wish all my colleagues in the diocese can go through.
We left from the Douala airport. We had just a short distance, for about 30 minutes, to Yaoundé. Yaoundé is the headquarters of Cameroon. And then from Yaoundé, we had to go through Brussels, which was about 6 hours, 30 minutes. And then from Brussels we had to take another plane, about 8 hours, 30 minutes to Washington, DC. And then from Washington, DC we had to take another plane [to Cincinnati] for roughly an hour and a few minutes.
And then we landed here. I was so happy. My feet were not swollen. And, I was not really tired. My eyes were wide open to see what was happening along the way. And it was a wonderful experience.
How did you respond when the bishop informed you that you were going to come to the US to serve with Glenmary? How did you receive that message from the bishop?
When the bishop asked me to come to Glenmary, I responded with obedience. Because as a priest, we vowed in front of him obedience—that I’m ready to work anywhere, wherever he asks me to go to. So, I didn’t hesitate.
I want to thank one of the priests here, Father Steve, who has been giving us a good number of lessons to open our minds on what Glenmary is all about.
On the very first meeting that we had with him, he told us about the five pillars of Glenmary. And he also asked us about how the church in the Diocese of Buea was. I told him that before I came here, I was a pastor in the parish. And one Mass on Sunday, I had at least 400 to 500 Christians. Father Steve told me that when I’m coming here, I should be ready, that I may not have even up to 20 on Sunday. And that is just what it is all about. So, before I came here, my mind was already prepared to work with Glenmary.
Have you been informed where you are going serve here in the US?
They have already told me that I am going to work at the Holy Family parish at Lafayette, which is situated in the Nashville Diocese. That is where I’m going to be. I’ll work with Glenmary Father Charles Aketch.
What excites you about working in the US as a missioner?
Since I came here, I’ve been living in the community of Glenmary. The priests in the house here and the Brothers in the house here, they’ve already given me the spirit to work because they are a very excited community. And for what they’ve been teaching me, the example in the house, you know, they made me to feel that if I’m sent to where I’m going to work, I will do the work.
What would you say to someone who says, I’m anticipating to be a missioner in the US? From your experience of a few days of being here.
It is a happy opportunity.
Before you came, what did you anticipate and when you got here, what did you find a shock for you?
When I was coming here, one thing which Father Steve told me, which was very interesting, was that we’re coming to be building up communities. And what came to my mind: in Cameroon, we have small Christian communities in the quarters, the church in the neighborhood. So I thought that when we come, we will do what we are doing in Cameroon.
In Cameroon, you can go into any neighborhood and then you just gather Christians together and that forms a small Christian community. But when I came here, I discovered a shock. And the shock is that each person’s house is sealed. It’s sealed. And it’s like, people don’t even know their neighbors.
Then I ask myself, how am I going to start these churches, these small Christian communities in the neighborhood? So I’m still waiting to see what will happen. I know that where I’m going to, I will have a pastor, Father Charles, and maybe from his example, I will learn how he has been doing that. They have told me he goes out and visit families. I will learn from him how to do it, how to visit the families, and how to build up the churches, on how to do what he’s doing. Because for me now, it is still a mystery.
So you say, Father, that for Sunday Mass you can receive like 400 Christians attending Mass. What’s like the population of Catholics in your country, Cameroon?
Oh, there are many. I cannot really estimate. But if the population of Cameroon is about, let me say, 18 million, then about 10 or 11 million are Catholics.
African countries are well known of being multilingual, one country having like 20 languages. How many languages are there in Cameroon?
Cameroon has many languages. Many, many languages. But there are three main languages: either you speak French, you speak English, or you speak Pidgin.
If you know your local language, there are four: French, English, Pidgin, and then your local language. But talk about the local language: there are hundreds of them. Hundreds. If you go into this quarter or this village, you hear they can talk in their own local language. But the two main, official languages in the country are French and English. If you are going to Cameroon, know that at least you should know either French or English.
What is your final message you’re going to give to the Glenmary community and to the people you are going to meet in the missions?
The final word to my community is that we have come. I have come, and I’m ready to work. I’m blessed to be here. And I’m happy to be here. Since I came, I’ve been healthy, and I’ve been happy.
I appreciate everything that I’ve been receiving: the food, the meals have been wonderful, the coffee, everything. So, I have not had any health problems, which is already a sign that God himself is already preparing me to do the work.
I’ve come, and I will do the work, and I will do it well. And I pray that God be with me to lead me through, to be able to do the work.
