“He died struggling to be a saint”: Cameroon’s Pioneer Bishop of Mamfe Diocese Laid to Rest

“And he died struggling to be a saint,” Archbishop Nkea said, describing him as a consistent and predictable man whose attitudes and responses were familiar to those who lived and worked with him.

Archbishop Nkea said Bishop Lysinge continually grew in spirituality and in his closeness to God, which was evident in all that he did.

Archbishop Nkea recalled that the late Bishop was particularly gifted in discussing spiritual matters and hearing confessions, and that his spirituality influenced many of the people he encountered throughout his Priestly and Episcopal Ministry.

“He was a pastor worthy of the name,” said the Archbishop of Bamenda, who also serves as President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC).

Addressing the people of God in Mamfe Diocese, he said they were “blessed indeed” to have had Bishop Lysinge as their pastor, noting that the late Bishop began his Priestly Ministry in Mamfe and, by God’s grace, also ended it there.

“Through his life and his death, may God bless the Diocese of Mamfe and the people of Mamfe forever and ever,” Archbishop Nkea implored.

The Cameroonian Archbishop, who succeeded Bishop Lysinge as the Local Ordinary of Mamfe, also recalled the late Bishop’s love for those in need.

“Everywhere he has lived, you always saw long lines of poor people gathering for help and counsel,” he said.

Reflecting on Christian hope in the face of death, Archbishop Nkea urged the faithful not to mourn as people without hope.

“Bishop Francis’s death is precious in the eyes of the Lord,” he said, describing death as a transition to the Father’s house, where God awaits his children at the end of their earthly journey.