Pilgrim on the Path of Hope
Christophe Youtemba (CLC-Cameroon member)
From 2 to 4 May 2025, the Christian Life Community (CLC) in Cameroon held its General Assembly in Yaoundé, with the theme ‘Pilgrim on the Path of Hope’. Since the 2023 CLC World Assembly in Amiens, we have continued with the roadmap we set out there, asking the Lord Jesus Christ for the grace to be true pilgrims and bearers of hope for our country, Cameroon. As the Apostle Paul reminds us, ‘hope does not disappoint’ (Romans 5:5).
Forty-two delegates, representing thirteen local groups from the Douala, Yaoundé and Bafoussam regions, came together to review their year’s journey in the light of the Holy Spirit. It was a powerful time of prayer, of reflection, of silence and of spiritual conversation, marked by a sense of deep gratitude to God who calls us to live out our mission as an apostolic, lay and Ignatian community within our Church and our nation.
In a spirit of community discernment and consensus-building, the delegates approved the community’s annual and financial reports. This process also led to the election of a new service team, with Christophe TIYONG, a member of the local “Annunciation” group in Yaoundé, as national coordinator. This new team were confirmed in their mission during the Eucharistic celebration. Father Thomas AHOUSSI, S.J., presided alongside Father Kizito FORBI, S.J., our ecclesiastical assistant, who is still in convalescence after a long illness.
Among the recommendations from the Assembly, several areas were highlighted: the spiritual vigilance of members, financial co-responsibility, training and the concrete implementation of community apostolic initiatives already discerned. Attention was particularly drawn to the three apostolic projects already underway in the regions of Yaoundé, Bafoussam and Douala, embracing the frontiers of youth, poverty and globalisation, and ecology. For these projects to become reality, greater commitment in terms of leadership and the active involvement of members of the community is required.
In this spirit of mission, all the Assembly participants visited the site of the apostolic project in Soa (a city near Yaoundé). The plan is to create a centre specifically for the global formation of young people. On this 5,859 square-meter plot of undeveloped land, we symbolically “rooted” our vision by planting more than 30 fruit trees, reminding us of the 2025 World CLC Day. (Horizon 183).
We thank God for this 2025 General Assembly. May our pilgrimage continue under His loving gaze, and in this Jubilee Year of Hope, may we share its fruits with the entire world community, in particular may we share it with the Region of Africa and Adjacent Islands, whose General Assembly will be held from 26 to 31 August 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us with her son Jesus, so that he may continue to guide us along this path of Hope.
