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“Our Lady asked for a deeper love”: Archbishop Urges Cameroon’s World Apostolate of Fatima to Revisit Fatima Message

Credit: Buea Diocese

Members of the World Apostolate of Fatima (Blue Army) in Cameroon have been urged to “revisit” the call for “a deeper love” that Our Lady of Fatima made.

In 1917, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in the small village of Fatima in Portugal. She appeared six times to nine-year-old Lucia, her cousin Francisco, who was aged eight, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between 13 May 1917 and 13 October 1917.

In his Thursday, July 25 homily during the opening Mass of Congress, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Cameroon’s Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda encouraged Blue Army members to pray the rosary without ceasing “for it is our weapon against the battles of sin.”

Archbishop Nkea recalled the Fatima messages, saying, “Our Lady asked for a deeper love and reverence for the Most Holy Trinity that leads to renewal in one’s life.”

Our Lady of Fatima, he said, also asked for “prayer and penance in reparation for sin and for the conversion of sinners, for a more genuine devotion to the Eucharist, devotion to the Holy Rosary prayed in meditation and for the consecration to her Immaculate Heart.”  

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“We must revisit the original messages of the apparition of our mother at Fatima and try to live these messages to the full and spread them all over Cameroon and the world,” he emphasized during the celebration at St. Anne High School Limbe in Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea 

The Local Ordinary of Bamenda, who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) lamented that “many people wear the uniform of the world apostle of Fatima and yet some don't adequately understand the message of Fatima and how it can be lived out correctly in their lives.”

“Blue Army members should take upon themselves the responsibility that the salvation of many depends on their prayers,” he said, adding, “We are the few who have decided to put ourselves together to pray for the salvation of the many and we shall do so fervently.”

Archbishop Nkea went on to encourage Blue Army members to live their lives in response to Our Lady’s message at Fatima and to surrender all to God for peace to reign in their hearts and the entire nation.

“Our Lady of Fatima is a sign of total surrender. We are not only surrendering ourselves, but we are surrendering our sins,” the Archbishop of Bamenda said.

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Strive to leave the congress with the resolve to “aggressively evangelize this country with the legitimate message of Fatima,” he appealed.

“We must carry out crusades for Our Lady of Fatima and bring this message to everybody, whether they want to hear it or not,” the 58-year-old Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2013 as the Coadjutor Bishop of Cameroon’s Mamfe Diocese said. 

Participants in the July 24-27 national event organized under the theme, “Praying for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for Peace in Cameroon and the World”, are to choose new leaders for the Blue Army in Cameroon.

Reflecting on the importance of servant leadership, Archbishop Nkea said, “We don't become leaders for ourselves. We become leaders for others and to render service.”

He told members of the Blue Army to “watch out against fighting for positions for the sake of authority,” and urged those vying for positions to do their best to “maintain the humility of our Blessed Mother.”

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“May God bless the World Apostolate of Fatima in this country and may we at all times be agents of peace, so that the peace of Christ who is the Prince of Peace and His mother, the Queen of peace, may spread to all the corners of our country, all the corners of the world, and remain with us forever and ever,” Archbishop Nkea implored in his July 25 homily.

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.