Home » Featured » Cameroon: course for seminary formators and workers of the vocations apostolate

Cameroon: course for seminary formators and workers of the vocations apostolate

Those priests who are responsible for the formation of future generations of priests have a great responsibility on their shoulders. For the sake of the young men under their care they themselves must be living witnesses to Christ and to the Gospel. Yet at the same time they must be qualified to a high intellectual level and also be possessed of great psychological sensitivity towards the seminarians.

Those priests who are responsible for the formation of future generations of priests have a great responsibility
The priests who are responsible for the formation of future generations of priests have a great responsibility

One of the most important factors in their work is the discernment required for the selection of the right candidates. Scandals in many different countries have demonstrated how disastrous it can be for the wrong kind of candidates to be admitted to the priesthood. Hence it is urgently necessary to make a very careful selection – which begins even before the young man has entered the seminary. It is essential for their future formators to form an accurate picture beforehand of the family situation of the candidates concerned, in order to discern whether there might be psychological or other problems in their early development. This requires the investment of a great deal of time and energy.

Even in Africa there are more and more broken families, and as a result many young people suffer spiritual trauma, even at a very early age. Caring for them in such a way that they can still become strong and faithful priests is an immense challenge. As is the task of weeding out the unsuitable candidates.

An additional challenge is the fact that many young men who enter the seminary have by no means had an ideal school education, and consequently there are educational deficiencies which also have to be made up for. And last, but by no means least, the foundations must be laid for a strong spiritual development. For a priest who is not profoundly rooted in the relationship with Jesus Christ and able to live from it can never be a suitable shepherd for the people of God.

The Douala ecclesiastical province has established an ongoing training course for those working in the vocations apostolate and in the minor seminaries

ACN’s support

Clearly, the priests responsible for the selection and formation of these future priests face major and ever-increasing challenges in their work, and so the Douala ecclesiastical province has established a two-year ongoing training course for those working in the area of the vocations apostolate and in the minor seminaries, where young boys and youths study and complete their secondary education with a view to possible entry into the major seminary, and also for formators working in the major seminaries. ACN is supporting these courses with a total of 8000 Euros.

Don't miss the latest updates!

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21…

Papal envoy carries solidarity to the Christians of war-torn Sudan

Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan, Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, has…

In the east of Burkina Faso, still many problems as term starts

While the security situation in Burkina Faso has improved slightly,…

From Angola to Vietnam, enthusiasm with “One million children praying the Rosary” campaign

ACN’s yearly campaign, added to the Holy Father’s appeal to…

Church clings to life amid chaos in Gaza

Aid to the Church in Need echoes Pope Leo XIV’s…

Children prepare to send “tidal wave of prayer” around the world

Responds to the ever-pressing yearning for peace and unity in…

Iraq: Ecumenical festival points to future for persecuted Church

Today, the very same communities will raise the Cross high…

List of News

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21 at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome for the worldwide presentation of the latest edition of the Report on...

Papal envoy carries solidarity to the Christians of war-torn Sudan

Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan, Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, has just completed a diplomatic mission through the region’s most badly affected by the current civil war in Sudan. Over several...

In the east of Burkina Faso, still many problems as term starts

While the security situation in Burkina Faso has improved slightly, some regions are still suffering from terrorism and misery. On the eve of the new school term, young people are...