We share joyful news from our partners, the Mill Hill Missionaries in Bamenda, Cameroon. Faith and celebration of life in the Lord continue despite the COVID-19 crisis.
On Sunday 14 June, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, 12 young men in the Mill Hill Formation House in Bamenda took the Society Temporary Missionary Oath. It was a beautiful and low-key celebration, with a few of the students’ family members and some Friends of Mill Hill.
The Temporary Oath
Through his Temporary Missionary Oath, a candidate expresses his sincere desire and free resolve to become a full Member of St Joseph’s Missionary Society (otherwise known as the Mill Hill Missionaries).
Students may take the Temporary Oath at the end of their First Cycle Formation. It comes after several years of formation and study, and usually binds the student to the Society for three years. At that point, the student will then be able to take his Perpetual Oath, which binds him to the Society for life.
Students take their Temporary Oath before going abroad for their two-year Missionary Experience Programme. Alternatively they take it before starting their Second Cycle formation in Nairobi, Kenya or Pune, India.
Find out more about supporting future Priests and Sisters here>>
Messengers of Christ
During the celebration of the Temporary Oath, each student received a Missionary Cross and the Constitutions of the Society. In Cameroon they also receive a local cultural symbol of a Gong: an instrument used by messengers as announcers of important information in the villages.
As he presented each student with a Gong, Fr. Richard Njoroge, the Society Representative in Cameroon, reminded the new Temporary members that, through the Missionary Oath they have taken, they have become messengers and announcers of the Gospel of Christ wherever they go.
The 12 students are on the verge of completing their first cycle of formation in July this year. Five of them have been recommended to proceed to the 2nd Cycle of Formation, at the Mill Hill Formation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya in August. The remaining seven candidates are set to go for two years Overseas Missionary Experience- (MEP).
We give thanks for the dedication of these young men and congratulate them. Our thoughts and prayers go with them as they embark on the next stage of their journey in Christ.
Supporting future Missionaries
Forming a strong and vibrant Church for the future is a central pillar of our work. Missio supports Mill Hill Missionaries through our prayers and the Red Box. We also have sponsorship schemes to train and support Seminarians in developing countries.
Read more about how we help train future Priests and Sisters here>>
Will you sponsor a seminarian in a developing country? Find out how here>>
You can read more about Mill Hill Missionaries on their website>>
Photo: Mill Hill Missionary Society