Albert Ndongmo
| Albert Ndongmo | |
|---|---|
Albert Ndongmo with the Pope some years after his release from imprisonment
|
|
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba |
| Appointed | 16 June 1964 |
| Term ended | 29 January 1973 |
| Predecessor | Paul Bouque |
| Successor | Thomas Nkuissi |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 December 1955 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 September 1926 Bafou, Cameroon |
| Died | 29 May 1992 (aged 65) Quebec |
| Buried | Nkongsamba, Cameroon |
| Nationality | Cameroon |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Occupation | Priest |
Albert Ndongmo (26 September 1926 – 29 May 1992) was Bishop of Nkongsamba in Cameroon between June 1964 and January 1973. In 1971 he was arrested, accused of treasonous dealings with rebels, and sentenced to death by a military tribunal. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, of which he served five years before the President ordered his release. After being released he moved to Rome and then to Canada, where he spent the rest of his life.
Albert Ndongmo was born on 26 September 1926 in Bafou, French Cameroons, near Dschang, to a Christian family of Bamiléké people. On 19 September 1940 he entered the small seminary at Melong, against the wishes of his parents. In January 1947 he was admitted to the large seminary at Mvolyé. A year later Castor Osendé Afana came to the Mvolyé seminary, and the two became close friends. Ndongmo was ordained on 21 December 1955 at Nkongsamba. He was appointed chaplain of the Nkongsamba diocese in 1959.
On 15 March 1960, Ndongmo launched the journal L'Essor des jeunes to impart Christian values to young people. With this journal, Ndongmo wanted to provide a forum for open debate of contemporary problems. He saw freedom of expression as the cornerstone of an integrated system of political, social, personal and intellectual belief, and attempted to use the journal for this purpose, although he was forced to work within a very limited budget. The journal was stamped with Ndongmo's personality. He used it, and his "ecclesiastical immunity" to ignore the censors and criticize the regime.
In April 1970 the archbishop Jean Zoa wanted to move L'Essor to Yaoundé and to make it a monthly Catholic journal for young people throughout the country. Although he agreed in principle with the need for a national journal, Ndongmo resisted the move and the change was not implemented. The regime viewed L'Essor des Jeunes as a subversive publication, particularly when it occasionally printed Ndongmo's pastoral letters, or extracts from his sermons, and suppressed it after arresting Ndongmo in 1970.
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