By Florence Ndiyah
Kith, kin, past and present students of Maryvale Institute came together at the Bamenda Metropolitan Cathedral on Friday, December 10, to celebrate the graduation of the third and sixth batches, christened the St. Ambrose and St. Rita batches respectively.
During a Holy Mass that preceded the event, which had fourteen (14) concelebrating priests, including the Vicar General of Bamenda Archdiocese, Fr. Engelbert Kofon, the Director of Maryvale Institute, Fr. Bibi Michael, and representatives from the Dioceses of Mamfe and Kumbo, the Archbishop of Bamenda, His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua, exhorted the graduates not to rest on their laurels, but to continue ongoing Christian formation for “he who rest as a Christian rusts”.
He said the sending out of the new catechists was significant as it happened just after Bamenda Archdiocese had celebrated its Ruby Jubilee, an evangelisation prowess achieved with minimally trained catechists. Consequently, more is expected from those trained at Maryvale.
The graduation, the Archbishop continued, also came up after two very important Church documents had just been published. At the local level there is the Catholic Catechism for the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province which is expected to be a handbook for every Christian in the province and the most recent publication, Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.
Maryvale Institute founders, Elizabeth and Norman Taylor, who ran the institute from 2001 to 2006 when they retired to England, were present at the ceremony. The Director of Maryvale Institute, Birmingham-England, Mgr. Paul J. Watson, encouraged the sixty-two (62) graduating catechists, composed of active and retired professionals from all walks of life. In a letter he informed them their names had been read a few weeks before during a Birmingham graduation.
On behalf of his classmates, the class prefect, Sebastine Nzekashu, mentioned the creation of Maryvale magazine, The Lily, as a major 6th batch achievement. A message which various speakers re-echoed was the recent beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman. He named the Maryvale Institute and it still operates from the house where he once lived from 1846 to 1848.
The reading of names, award of certificates and singing of Maryvale Anthem were the graduation highpoints; an event which was also used to raise funds to complete the Maryvale dormitory in Paul VI Pastoral Centre, Bamendankwe.
Apart from the October, January and April residential sessions, a special session will be included for teachers of religious knowledge during the December, March and August holiday months.
Maryvale seems like a great place to be! Are there any teaching opportunities for graduates with a Master of Arts degree in Sacred Theology?
Posted by: Vunda Moutchia | January 24, 2012 at 09:48 PM