Pope Francis has named the Bishop of Ebolowa Jean Mbarga as Archbishop of Yaoundé in Cameroon.

Until his appointment on Friday, the Archbishop-elect served as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Yaoundé since July last year following the resignation of Archbishop Victor Tonyé Bakot in accordance with Canon 401 paragraph 2.

Archbishop-elect Jean Mbarga was born on the 18th May 1956 in the town of Ebolmedzo. He was ordained a priest in Yaoundé on 5th Dec 1981.

On 15th October 2004, St. Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the then Diocese of Ebolowa-Kribi. Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of Yaoundé on the 29th July 2013.

The territory covered by the Archdiocese of Yaoundé has a population of approximately 1,881,000 with Catholic numbering 903,000. The Yaoundé Archdiocese has a total number of 414 priests serving 132 parishes.