A brief history of the diocese of Kumba

The Catholic Diocese of Kumba is the youngest in the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda-Cameroon. It was created on Tuesday, 15th March 2016, by His Holiness Pope Francis with territory detached from the Diocese of Buea and named after the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

His Lordship, Bishop Agapitus Enyuyehnyoh Nfon, was appointed as its pioneer Bishop on the same day and was installed on 7th May 2016 by Archbishop Pierro Pioppo, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Though created somewhat a few years ago, the history of the Catholic Faith in the Diocese of Kumba dates as far back as more than 120 years, with the first parish, that is, Ikassa Parish created in 1905.

The Diocese of Kumba covers Meme, Ndian and parts of the Kupe-Muanenguba Divisions, South West Region of Cameroon in the Equatorial Region of West Africa. It has an approximate surface area of 11,431km2 (4,415 Square Miles) and shares a common boundary with the Diocese of Mamfe to the North and the Diocese of Buea to the South.

The estimated population of the territory occupied by the Diocese of Kumba as at the time of creation stands at 562 988 people. The number of Catholics is 205 491, which is 36.5% of the total population. This population is spread across 19 parishes and 2 pastoral zones clustered into four deaneries namely, Kumba Town, Fiango, Tombel and Mundemba with a total number of over 214  mission stations. It is blessed with 34 priests, 14 religious, and 164 Catechists (data as of  January 2023) to carry out the work of evangelization with and among the people of God.

Some of the natural challenges the Diocese faces by virtue of its infancy include enormous pastoral workload on the limited number of priests, inadequate infrastructure like Church buildings and offices, the dire need for human and financial resources to support the work of evangelization and presently, the socio-political crisis that has hit hard on the diocese leading to the shutdown of many places of worship.

 

Found in a predominantly rural territory with just about 15% of the territory urban, the Diocese of Kumba is faced with difficulties in communication, road network, education, health, etc. However, through the prayers and the dedication of the enthusiastic Christian Family of Kumba, with the benevolence of well wishers at home and abroad, we hope for nothing but the best for the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Diocese of Kumba.