Bishop Djida makes final journey home

The late Bishop Joseph Djida who died January 6 will be buried on today, Wednesday.

The procession with the body of Bishop Joseph Djida, at the point of departure from the mortuary of the regional hospital of Ngaoundéré and at the Cathedral of our Lady of the Apostles of Ngaoundéré, painted a vivid picture of a man greatly cherished by his congregation.

A huge, silent and collected, crowd attended the first phase of the funeral of the late Bishop Joseph Djida. During the Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Ngaoundéré, Bishop Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of Douala in his homily, asked the faithful to pray for the deceased.

The president of the National Episcopal Conference had at his side, Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop of Garoua, Bishop Antoine Ntalou and Bishop of Yagoua, Bishop Barthélemy Yaouda Hourgo, main leader of the ritual for the removal of corpse in Ngaoundéré.

At the mortuary, the Cathedral esplanade was saturated. The Organizing Committee, chaired by Mgr Emmanuel Abbo, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Ngaoundéré, had installed tents and various amenities in the Cathedral's main site of the funeral. Police, deployed in large numbers, came to support the Organizing Committee.

Many personalities, members of the Government, authorities administrative, political and traditional leaders of the Adamawa region, all religious faithfuls together, attended the first phase of the ceremony. The Secretary General of the Governor, Cyril Ivan Abondo, represented the Governor of Adamawa.

Burial requiem mass will be said at the Our Lady of Apostles cathedral in Ngaoundéré from 10am. Many members of the clergy, personalities from various backgrounds and the Catholic faithful will be present.