“Why can’t I be like them one day?” How Serving at Papal Mass Inspired Cameroonian Bishop’s Priestly Vocation

Bishop Bibi served as a Priest of Cameroon’s Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda until March 2017, when he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the same Metropolitan See.

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea. Credit: ACI Africa

In December 2019, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Buea Diocese before becoming its Local Ordinary in February 2021.

Reflecting on the influence of St. John Paul II’s visit, Bishop Bibi said the witness of others can inspire young people to embrace Priestly and Religious Life.

“There are lots of us today who are Priests; there are lots of our Christians who are living good and holy lives because they look up to those who are elderly,” he told ACI Africa during the August 6 interview in Kigali.

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Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea. Credit: ACI Africa

He continued, “There are good married couples who do their work with a lot of dedication and devotion.”

“The parents will always be a good model to the children in the house,” Bishop Bibi said, adding that when adults live responsibly, younger people “will always learn, and they will have to try in order to emulate us and be better people tomorrow.”

“Can God Not Call Me?”

The Cameroonian Catholic Church leader said the way Priests celebrated Holy Mass and carried out their pastoral responsibilities also influenced his discernment.

Credit: ACI Africa

“When I was growing up as a young altar boy, when I used to see the Priests in those days, the way they celebrated Mass, the way they committed in doing their work, I said, ‘Can God not call me to also offer myself to serve like this?’” he recalled.

He said the Christian witness of parents, married couples, Priests, Religious and Bishops can draw others closer to Christ.

“Looking at the family, looking at the Priests in the Church, looking at the Bishops, our witness, the witnessing of life that we give, inspires people a lot,” Bishop Bibi said, and added, “So, we are talking about models. That is what we are called to do as Bishops, as Priests, as Religious, as lay persons. People look up to us as Christians.”

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea. Credit: ACI Africa

He continued, “We have to try in our own little way, by our witnessing, to see how we can draw people closer to Christ.”

Bishop Bibi recounted an encounter with a Priest member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CMF/Claretians) who visited him shortly before he travelled to Rwanda for the August 3-8 SIGNIS World Congress to ask for his blessing ahead of a journey to India.

The Claretian Priest, who had been in ministry longer than Bishop Bibi, told him that watching him celebrate Holy Mass had strengthened his own faith and Priesthood.

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea. Credit: ACI Africa

“He said, ‘Bishop, when I see you celebrate Mass, I’m celebrating with you, or I’m watching you at Divine Mercy Radio and Television, my feeling is different. You are a real model to me,’” Bishop Bibi recalled.

The Priest became emotional as he encouraged the Cameroonian Bishop in his ministry and assured him of his prayers.

“He burst into tears,” Bishop Bibi said, recalling the Priest’s words: “Each time I see you, I have a different feeling. I’m just coming to say, let me thank you, encourage you in your work. I also know you have lots of challenges and difficulties. I am praying for you every day.”

Bishop Michael Miabesue Bibi of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea. Credit: ACI Africa

“I blessed him, and he travelled,” Bishop Bibi told ACI Africa on August 6. 

A Vocation Nurtured beyond a Catholic School

Bishop Bibi also addressed young Catholics attending government and other secular schools, saying the absence of a conventional Catholic-school environment does not prevent a vocation from emerging and being nurtured.

He recalled beginning his education at a Presbyterian primary school, where his father was the headmaster, before attending St. Joseph Primary School and later a lay-owned private institution in Bamenda.

Credit: ACI Africa

“It happened at that time that my parents could not send me to a mission school,” he said, adding that “at that time, I was not even thinking about becoming a Priest, even though I was an altar boy. I never thought of becoming a Priest.”

Bishop Bibi said the proprietor of the private school he attended was a committed Catholic whose faith shaped the institution.

“Though it was a private school, every day the different classes had to go for Mass. They had to prepare. It was just like a Catholic school,” he said.

Credit: ACI Africa

The proprietor and his wife attended Holy Mass daily, an example Bishop Bibi described as “a great source of encouragement.”

The Cameroonian Catholic Bishop also recalled the role of his mother, who ensured that he attended Holy Mass before going to school.

“Every morning my mother took me to Church. I got up in the morning at 5:30 and left the house. At six o’clock, Mass; after Mass, school,” he said.

Credit: ACI Africa

“We never knew about breakfast. Breakfast never existed. My breakfast was the Eucharist that I received that morning. After that, straight to school,” Bishop Bibi recalled, and reiterated, “The private school was actually like a Catholic school.”

After completing five years at the institution, he entered the Minor Seminary for high school, having become convinced that God was calling him to the Priesthood.

“I felt that God was calling me to become a Priest,” Bishop Bibi said.

He approached his Parish Priest, who advised him to continue his education at Bishop Rogan College.

Bishop Bibi said he initially feared that his father might not be able to finance another child’s education in a mission school.

Credit: ACI Africa

“I was afraid that if I told my father, he may say, ‘Oh, my brother is in Sacred Heart, my sister is in PSS; how is he going to send me to another mission school again?’” he recalled.

His father, however, supported his decision.

“When I told my father, he said, ‘Look, Michael, I have delivered all of you. If you think that God is calling you to become a Priest, I am ready to educate you to whatever level that you can reach,’” Bishop Bibi recounted.

“That is how I went to Bishop Rogan, and finally I am a Priest today,” the Local Ordinary of Buea Diocese, who also serves as President of the Commission for Communications of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) told ACI Africa. 

“God Called Them in That Situation”

Bishop Bibi acknowledged the contribution of Minor Seminaries to vocational discernment but said God also calls candidates from government and lay-owned private schools.

“The Minor Seminary is very important. The Minor Seminary is helpful as far as the discernment of vocation is concerned,” he said.

Credit: ACI Africa

“But at the same time, there are some of our Priests today, not only me, who went to government schools, who went to lay private schools, that because of the visit of the Priest, because of the witness of the life of their teachers, or proprietors, or even their parents, God called them in that situation,” Bishop Bibi added.

He said many candidates eventually ordained in African Dioceses began their discernment outside Minor Seminaries.

“If you look at the percentage of those who are actually ordained in most of our Dioceses, you will discover that most of them come from lay private schools and government schools,” the Cameroonian Catholic Bishop said.

Credit: ACI Africa

He called for a stronger pastoral presence in such institutions through teachers who provide Christian witness, moral instruction, visits by Priests, celebration of Mass and catechetical accompaniment.

“Even in lay private schools and government schools, where we have teachers who are witnesses, where moral instruction is being carried out, where the Church is present, we have to be present in these institutions to accompany the children,” Bishop Bibi said.

He continued, “Either celebrating Mass, giving them doctrine classes and all the rest, and making sure that we still keep them together and let them be active as far as the life of the Church is concerned, I think that will be very important.”