“A bishop is a servant and where ever he is sent to, like the Apostle Paul, he must go.”

Mgr Samuel Kleda, Coadjutor Archbishop of the Douala metropolitan See

The Douala Metropolitan See now has a Coadjutor Archbishop. He is Mgr Samuel Kleda. The information was disclosed at the Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish Hall on Saturday November 3, 2007 by the Archbishop of Douala, His Eminence, Christian Cardinal Tumi. Shortly after Pope Benedict XVI’s decision was made public, Radio Veritas interviewed Mgr Samuel Kleda who outlined the complexity of the task that awaits him in his new station and the necessity for all his collaborators to work as a team.
Excerpts

Mgr, may we know your reaction after your appointment as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Douala? You must be very happy?
The work that a pastor has to accomplish is enormous. At the moment I am overwhelmed by the sense of humility and poverty. When a bishop is transferred to a diocese, the first major preoccupation is to explore effective ways of preaching the Good News to Christians, to God’s people within that diocese. You just talked of joy, of course I am happy to go to Douala and preach the Good News in that archdiocese. A bishop is a servant and where ever he is sent to, like the apostle Paul, he must go. Go into the world and preach the Good News, is the instruction that Christ has given all pastors. I am sure that Christians in Douala will be happy to receive me and I hope that together we shall be able to walk the path that Christ has marked out for us.

In your capacity as the Vice President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon you’ve been invited to Douala by some parishes. Do you have an idea of the task that awaits you in your new diocese?
I know that Douala is the most populated town in Cameroon. This means that when one gets to such a place the first and most important thing will be to ask God to give him the Grace that is needed to accomplish the ministry which He has given him. When I get to Douala I will not be alone. I have collaborators and we have to come together to work as a team. Otherwise it is not going to work. I can’t do all the work alone. The task has to be shared out, so that everybody should know what his/her responsibilities are. The Douala Archdiocese and God’s people are already there. I am going to work with the brothers and sisters who are already there, the Christian community who have been chosen by God. That is a privilege and we all have to understand that and work for the propagation of the gospel.