On Thursday 1st September 2022, Bishop Philip celebrated the annual mass of St. Gregory the Great for Diocesan Papal Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Orders of St. Gregory the Great and St. Silvester at the Cathedral. They were joined by others from our neighbouring dioceses. A total of 45 attended, the best turn-out ever.
At the luncheon afterwards a project and competition for our schools on St. Gregory and St. Sylvester was launched by Joanna Bogle DSG with the proposal to invite the winners to the 2023 celebration to receive their prizes.
We then heard ‘Bamenda the first 50 years’ a brief history of our Diocese’s involvement with the Diocese (now a Archdiocese) of Bamenda led by Colm Lennon KSG assisted by Fr’s Bernardine Nsom and Peter Codd. It was in 1974 that Bishop Derek Worlock then bishop of Portsmouth initiated a diocesan twinning with bishop Paul Verdgzekov the first bishop of the recently created diocese of Bamenda, the capital of the North West Province in Cameroon, West Africa, a practical demonstration of the Vatican II document ‘Gaudium et Spes’ (Hope & Joy).
Priests went from Portsmouth to serve in Bamenda and over the past nearly 50 years more than £1million has been raised by Portsmouth parishioners for projects that have been successfully implemented in the areas of Faith, Health, Education and Social Welfare. Currently there are six priests from Bamenda now serving in parishes across the Portsmouth Diocese.
Association of Papal Orders in Great Britain 