The apostolic visit of the Holy Father in Cameroon, which will take place from 17-20 March 2009, gives us the opportunity to reflect on the beginning of evangelisation in this African country by the German Pallottine missionaries who were sent by the Holy See in 1890. For a greater understanding of the apostolic and missionary activity in this country we are dividing this profile into three parts.

On 25 October 1890 two Pallottine priests, Heinrich Vieter and George Walter with five brothers and a seminarian came to Duala in Cameroon. On 8 December 1890 they celebrated the holy Mass in the first house in Marienberg (Mount Mary) which they themselves had built, entrusting Cameroon to the protection of the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles. At Christmas of 1891 opened the first missionary school and the first 15 students were baptised. In 1904 the Apostolic Prefecture of Cameroon is raised to Apostolic Vicariate and Msgr Henrich Vieter became the first Apostolic Vicar, who later fell ill and died in Yaoundé, where he was buried. The figure of this Pallottine missionary Bishop is crucial in the history of the evangelisation of Cameroon.
The statistics at the end of 1913 shows 16 missionary stations maintained by 34 priests, 37 brothers and 31 religious, all Pallottines, 223 catechists and 28179 native Catholics.
During the first 36 years twenty-five Pallottine missionaries have given their lives for the life of the Church in Cameroon: 23 brothers, 11 priests and two nuns.
With the advent of the First World War, among other effects, there was the expulsion of German Pallottines from the country. The reason was the defeat of Germany and the division of Cameroon into French and English territories.

Second Period from 1964 to 1994: The Return

The Pallottine missionaries returned to Cameroon in 1964. The circumstances that led to the return to Cameroon were associated with the Archbishop of Yaoundé, Msgr Jean ZOA, who came to Rome to attend the Vatican Council II, and asked the Pallottines to return to Cameroon. He believed that the Pallottine missionaries were the "fathers in the faith" and had a great appreciation for the work done at the beginning of evangelisation of the century. The German Pallottines of that time accepted the proposal of the Archbishop. The first three established the missions in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, and soon created the parish of St. Vincent Pallotti.
In the 80s they begun to receive the first local vocations, and the first Cameroonian Pallottine was ordained priest in 1994.

Third Period 1994 to 2008: Big Development

In 1990 the Church of Cameroon celebrated the Centenary of the evangelisation. This was an occasion to speak of the origin and therefore of the first evangelisation done by the Pallottine missionaries.
The celebration of the Centenary led, as a natural consequence, to the admission to the Society of so many young people who knocked on the door of the Pallottines to become missionaries. Today there are more than forty priests and brothers of perpetual consecration and fifty students who are preparing for the priesthood. The Pallottine missionaries are working in six dioceses in the country, taking pastoral care of parishes and a school. Particularly worth mentioning is the Pastoral Centre "John XXIII", where a spiritual and apostolic formation is given, and together with other religious institutes, it devotes itself to the training of candidates in the two advanced institutes of Philosophy (Institut Mukasa) and Theology (Ecole Saint Cyprien).
Five Cameroonian priests are also working in South Africa and are responsible for the houses of formation. This means that they have become missionaries in accordance with the call of the Great Pope Paul VI who called Africans "to become missionaries in their own continent."
It should be noted that the Pallottine Sisters from the outset (1892) have been committed to cooperate in the evangelisation of the Pallottine part of Africa. The Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate are present in Mozambique and the Missionary Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate are present in South Africa, Rwanda, Congo, Tanzania and Cameroon.
Also many lay people are involved in the realisation of the Pallottine charism in Africa. Some of them have already made the apostolic commitment in the Union of Catholic Apostolate. It should be mentioned here, finally, that there exists a group of youth of "Elisabetta Sanna" in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Fourth period: The birth of the Region of the Most Holy Trinity

On 8 December 2008 was legally established a new Pallottine entity, the Region of the Most Holy Trinity, which includes Cameroon and Nigeria with its own administration and a local Regional Council.
The date 8 December recalled the consecration of Cameroon to Mary Queen of Apostles, made by Bishop Heinrich Vieter on the 8 December 1890 at the beginning of evangelisation.
In this way the prophecy of the founder of the Pallottines, St. Vincent Pallotti, who on his deathbed reassured the first 12 Pallottines present, that "the Society will grow and be blessed by God and you will see. And I say this not because I trust but because I am certain."
At the moment the Pallottines are present in ten countries in the African continent, with more than three hundred members and are in continuous expansion. These countries are: Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. During his visit to Cameroon, on 18 March, in the Basilica of Mary Queen of Apostles, under the pastoral care of the Pallottines, the Pope will celebrate Vespers with the local clergy and representatives of ecclesial movements and other Christian confessions, and will give his speech. Please note that this basilica was built on the hill "Mvolyé" to commemorate the centenary of the evangelisation of Cameroon, at the same place where the first church was built by Msgr Vieter in Yaoundé. The cause of beatification at the diocesan level of Msgr Vieter was also opened from the same basilica.

Fr Antonio Celona, SAC and Fr Stanisław Stawicki, SAC