The Maryvale Institute for Catechesis in Bamenda has graduated its 10 batch of students and equally organised a fund raiser for the ongoing construction of a chapel at the Pastoral Centre that hosts the institute. The twin event took place Saturday December 13, 2014 at the Mankon Metropolitan Cathedral.

The day’s occasion started with a Pontifical Mass that grouped the Auxiliary Bishop of Bamenda Mgr. Agapitus Nfon and 20 other priests concelebrants with the Archbishop of Bamenda his Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua as main celebrant.

Amongst several things in his homily the prelate of Bamenda archdiocese noted that he was on that day accomplishing the task Pope Francis gave to the bishops of Cameroon during the 2014 ad limina visit to the Vatican.

The said task was for the bishops to ensure the proper formation of the laity in the doctrine of the Catholic Church for the deepening of their faith.

Archbishop Esua added that the issue of the proliferation of mushroom churches and self declared prophets have become the order of the day and it is sad to note that many Catholic Christians fall prey to these. This is the reason why an institute like Maryvale and similar ones are of great importance to the church.

To the graduating class, the preacher said they must have the courage to proclaim what is learnt in Maryvale whether they are welcome or not. They equally have to correct the falsehood that is so rampant nowadays and they should do so especially by their own examples.

Archbishop Cornelius added that what the church needs now is simply courageous Catechists and Christians like Isaiah and John the Baptist as seen in the First Reading and the Gospel text of the day.

He noted that Maryvale Bamenda has grown to the extent of having branches in Kumbo and Mamfe dioceses since after the link between Maryvale Birmingham and Bamenda Archdiocese began 15 years ago.

The founding of Maryvale Bamenda he added was motivated by the call of Rome for the proper training of Catechists who are closest collaborators of Priests. The archbishop went on to express his joy over the fact that many Christians are taking the Maryvale course and not only those who feel called to be Catechists since the programme is open to all baptised Christians for the deepening of their faith.

The holy Mass continued unperturbed till after the post Communion prayer when the graduation ceremony proper took place with the award of certificates to the 96 students of the All Saints 10th batch. Several speeches and the fundraiser closely followed the certificate awards. Almost the whole congregation took part and the sum of about 4 million FCFA was raised.

There was equally a presentation of gifts from staff and students of Maryvale Bamenda to the two guests of honour who also concelebrated at the Eucharistic celebration.

These were the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Birmingham Rev. Monsignor Timothy Menezes and the new Director of Maryvale Institute Birmingham Rev. Fr. Edward Clare. The special guests to the graduation ceremony visited the four diocese of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province during their 5 day stay in Cameroon.

On the eve of the graduation ceremony, Rev. Monsignor Timothy Menezes and Rev. Fr. Edward Clare paid a visit to the staff and past and present students at the Maryvale institute. The whole visit was entirely for fun and merry making and it was an opportunity for some students to share their experiences on the impact of Maryvale in their lives. The Postulants to the Congregation of the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis treated all to traditional dances, recitations and choral music which had “the importance of Maryvale” as theme.

The Maryvale Institute is a college of further and higher education, an International Catholic Distance-Learning College for Catechesis, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education in Old Oscott, Great Barr, Birmingham, England. It specialises in the provision of part-time and distance learning courses to the lay faithful and ministers of the Roman Catholic Church.

The College has existed in its current state since 1980, on the site of an earlier college, founded in 1794 for both the training of priests and the education of lay pupils. The Institute is part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Its Doctoral (PhD) programme is accredited by Liverpool Hope University. Its Masters programme is accredited by the Open University.

The emphasis of the Institute is on Diocesan catechesis. The validator of the B. Divinity programme is the Faculté-Notre Dame at the École cathédrale de Paris.