Pope Francis names Bishop Jean Mbarga as Archbishop of Yaounde

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.