Bishops of Cameroon are in Rome for Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum 2023, a significant visit which runs from the 11th to the 17th of September 2023. The Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum is an obligatory visit made by all Bishops to Rome during which they pray at the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. It is also a forum where the Bishops meet with Pope Francis and Vatican officials.
This meeting takes place every five years during which Roman Catholic Bishops from all over the world meet in the Vatican with the Pope to illustrate the particularities that distinguish their ecclesiastical region from a religious, social and cultural perspective and how the particular “Church” intervenes in times of challenging situations.
On this opening day of the event, the Bishops of Cameroon had an opening Mass at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore presided over by the Archbishop of Douala Mgr. Samuel Kleda while the Homily was delivered by the Bishop of Kribi Mgr. Damase Zinge.
His Excellency Michael Bibi in Rome For Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum 2023
They shall on this first day also visit 3 Dicasteries; the Discastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (which deals with Health, CARITAS, Immigrants and refugees, Justice and peace) and the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
At the ongoing Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum , while the audience with Pope Francis receives the most coverage, there shall be Masses at the major churches of Rome: St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major.
The Bishops will also meet with officials from many of the departments and offices in the Roman Curia. In addition, information from the quinquennial report submitted by the Dioceses shall be discussed during the visit with the Holy Father and other officials.
Cameroon Catholic Bishops in Rome For Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum 2023
It is equally a moment which witnesses the pledge of commitment and loyalty by the Bishops especially to the Holy Father. They accept fully the teaching of the Church and the Magisterium. This visit is a pilgrimage that the Bishops are making together as a sign of their collegiality.
It is important to note that Visitatio Ad Limina Apostolorum (to the threshold of the apostles) dates as far back as the visits that all Bishops had to make to Rome as established in the Council of Rome in 745, under pope Zacharias- the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy.
