The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul - situated in
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
- is the cathedral of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Douala in Cameroon. The current archbishop is Archbishop Samuel Kleda; he had previously been the coadjutor archbishop
to the Archbishop Emeritus ...
and dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.
History
The Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul was built in 1936 by
French Spiritans fathers and it is based on the legacy of the
fathers Pallotins.
The advent of Catholicism in Cameroon has its origins in Germany through the baptism of the first Cameroonian catechumen,
Andreas Kwa Mbange
Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...
, on January 6, 1889. Born in 1873, he reaches the age of 14 years to learn the craft baker. He then discovers the Catholic cult in a Benedictine Monastery and asks to be baptized. Following the christening, the question of evangelization in Cameroon was discussed in Berlin and Rome. The year 1890 is decisive. In March, a decree of Pope Leo XIII creates the apostolic prefecture of Cameroon and entrusts the Pallottines Missionaries. On October 25, 1890, the father Vieter, prefect apostolic landed at Kamerunstadt (Douala), the head of a delegation of seven missionaries. The following day, October 26, 1890, he celebrates the first Catholic mass in Cameroonian land, in the Woermann factory in Bonanjo, then known as Belldorf. But in December 1890, faced with the hostility of Protestants who want to keep the hand-setting Kamerunstadt, Catholic missionaries were forced to leave the coast. They founded the first Catholic mission in Cameroon in Marienberg (Sanaga). The local rivalries between Catholics and Protestants was also expressed about the language of instruction for denominational school, an indispensable tool for religious propaganda.
The Pallotins leave Cameroon in the wake of the Germans after their defeat in 1914, and are replaced by French Spiritans in 1916.
Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul
'' in ''Douala Ville d'art et d'histoire'', doual'art, Douala, 2006.
Architecture
Its columns and domes give it a Byzantine air. It also has neo-Roman architectural elements, including its porch. Two twin towers surround the central front.
Douala-Vue aérienne (1).jpg
Douala-Vue aérienne (5).jpg
Cathédrale Saint Pierre & Paul par SM.jpg
See also
*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Douala is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Douala in Cameroon. The current archbishop is Archbishop Samuel Kleda; he had previously been the coadjutor archbishop
to the Archbishop Emeritus ...
*
Roman Catholicism in Cameroon
The Catholic Church in Cameroon is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
There are almost ten million Catholics in the Republic of Cameroon, 38.4% of the population, in 24 Dioceses. There are ...
*
List of cathedrals in Cameroon
*
Pallottine mission to Kamerun The Pallottine Mission to Kamerun (also spelled Pallotin or Pallotine) was a Roman Catholic mission to the German colony of Kamerun run by the Pallottines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When the German Empire became the colonial power ...
References
Further reading
*
PCathedral of Saints Peter and Paul' in ''Douala Ville d'art et d'histoire'', doual'art, Douala, 2006.
External links
{{Commons category, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Cathedral in Douala
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1936
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Cameroon
Buildings and structures in Douala
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Cameroon