At Death Anniversary, Catholic Bishop in Cameroon Remembered for Impacting “many people”

“He did not worry so much about what people said about him, but he believed so much in his efforts to make the Diocese of Buea a home to all Christ faithful, and although we are gathered here to celebrate his memory, it is important to note that Bishop Awa was not a very popular Bishop when he was alive,” he further said.

He added, “While some criticized him for being too withdrawn from the public, others criticized him for being too conservative, and others criticized him simply for the fact that he was an indigene of the Northwest region.” 

Credit: Buea Diocese

“At the time, Bishop’s foresight was too far for the people of this world to see. The world considered Bishop Awa’s wisdom foolish. Bishop Awa’s vision was too deep for many people to understand, and Bishop Awa’s works were too great for those with little minds to see,” the Local Ordinary of Bamenda Archdiocese who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) said.

He went on to reflect on the impact of the late Cameroonian Bishop, who died at the age of 83 having started his Episcopal Ministry aged 40 as Coadjutor Bishop of Buea in May 1971, saying, “Each parish has the mark of Bishop Awa in a church or presbytery that he built and each project has a history between Bishop Awa and the parishioners.”

“Bishop Pius Awa can be referred to as the St. Jerome of our days with his pidgin translations and publications,” Archbishop Nkea said.

Credit: Buea Diocese

Bishop Awa, he explained, “took so many years locked in his study, besides his pastoral and administrative works, to translate the entire Sunday Lectionary into Pidgin English. He also translated into Pidgin English the Lectionary of the Weekdays of the various seasons of the Church and the Pidgin English Prayer Book.”

The 58-year-old Cameroonian Catholic Archbishop, who has been at the helm of Bamenda Archdiocese since his installation in February 2020 continued, “He did not forget the young ones, as he also published the Handbook of the Cadets of Mary, not forgetting the Cameroon Hymnal. In this way, Bishop Awa lived to the full the motto he chose for his Episcopal ordination, “Ut Cognoscant Te” – (That they may know you).” 

“By those translations, he brought the Good News of the Kingdom of God down to the level of the ordinary people, that they may know the One true God. Whenever we hear pidgin English being read from the Lecterns of our Churches, we will remember Bishop Pius Awa, the great translator of God’s word and the Master of the Pidgin Language,” Archbishop Nkea said during the March 9 Eucharistic celebration at which the five Local Ordinaries of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province (BAPEC) concelebrated.

Credit: Buea Diocese

Born in May 1930, Bishop Awa was ordained a Priest in December 1961.

He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Buea in February 1971 and succeeded Bishop Julius Joseph Willem Peeters in January 1973; he retired from the pastoral care of Buea Diocese in November 2006.

At the end of the March 9 Eucharistic celebration, members of BAPEC inaugurated the Bishop Pius Awa Memorial Pastoral Centre.

Speaking during the event, the Vicar for Clergy of Buea Diocese, Fr. John Tchamnda, said, “The memory of Bishop Awa is engraved in our minds and hearts, but the dedication of this structure to Bishop Awa is an external manifestation of the place he holds in our hearts.”

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“It is a testament to the great work that he did in this diocese and this church province, and it will act as a memorial to those who come after us. Bishop Awa will be remembered for many things,” Fr. Tchamnda added.

Credit: Buea Diocese

He implored, “May his zeal for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his concern for the wellbeing and welfare of the priest and religious and laity, and the unity of the diocese, continue to inspire all that we do for God, for his church, and for our diocese.”

On his part, the Chairperson of Buea Diocesan Pastoral Council, James Vefonge, said, “In fond memories, we remember our very first indigenous bishop, Pius Awa. After 10 years of his passing away, we have come together to examine his life in love. Love because his deeds stand as a testimony to the life he led’.