Cornelius Fontem Esua is a Cameroonian

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest Region. The city has a population of about six hundred thousand people and is located north-west of the C ...

Metropolitan See Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

since 2006 and retired in 2020.

Life

Born in Mbetta, Esua was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on December 29, 1971. On September 10, 1982, Esua was appointed

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Kumbo Kumbo, also known as Kimbo, is the second-largest city in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, North West Province of Cameroon and the capital of Bui (Cameroon department), Bui Division. It lies about 2000m above sea level and is situated approximate ...

. Esua received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on the following December 8 from archbishop

Donato Squicciarini Donato Squicciarini (24 April 1927 – 5 March 2006) was an Italian Catholic archbishop who acted as Nuncio to Austria from 1989 to 2002. Squicciarini was born at Altamura, Apulia on 24 April 1927. He was ordained priest 12 April 1952, and ordain ...

, the then apostolic nuncio to Cameroon, with the then recently appointed archbishop of Bamenda, Paul Mbiybe Verdzekov, and the bishop of

Buéa Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of about 800.000 inhabitants as of 2023. It has two Government Hotels, the Mountai ...

, Pius Suh Awa, serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Esua was named coadjutor archbishop of Bamenda by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on December 7, 2004; he succeeded Paul Mbiybe Verdzekov as archbishop of Bamenda on January 23, 2006. In June of 2019 Esua was kidnapped and later freed by separatist fighters in Belo.

Views

Esua expressed his full intentions as Chief Pastor to advocate

doctrinal Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolog ...

views on issues like the Nkuv Affair. A number of the prominent members of the World Apostolate of Fatima (The Blue Army) became ringleaders of the unorthodox Nkuv devotion, since the latter was in some manner associated with the Fatima apparitions. It was on account of this association that the 13th of every month, and most especially the 13th of May, was taken as the official day of prayer for the Nkuvites. Since October 7, 1997, when Esua, then Bishop of Kumbo, issued a

pastoral letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circu ...

declaring the unorthodoxy of the Nkuv Affair and outlining the criteria for determining the authenticity of

Marian apparitions A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are mor ...

, some of its adherents have withdrawn and regained

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

, some adhere both to Nkuv and to the church, and some have publicly excluded themselves from the church and pledged allegiance to Nkuv. Esua and the other bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province (BAPEC), issued a letter to all of the Christians concerning the

sacrament of marriage Christian terminology and theological views of marriage vary by time period, by country, and by the different Christian denominations. Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians consider marriage as a holy sacrament or sacred mystery, while Pro ...

and

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. All the bishops requested that before the publication of

marriage banns The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town coun ...

, couples must present to the

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

a valid and authentic

medical certificate A medical certificate or doctor's certificate is a written statement from a physician or another medically qualified health care provider which attests to the result of a medical examination of a patient. It can serve as a sick note ( UK: fit no ...

showing that they have done HIV/AIDS screening.

References

External links

Catholic-HierarchyBigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu
(in Nigerian)
''L'Effort Camerounais'', Newspaper of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esua, Cornelius Fontem 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Cameroon 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 1943 births Living people Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni People from Bamenda Cameroonian Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic bishops of Kumbo Roman Catholic archbishops of Bamenda

Life

Views

See also

References

External links