Paul Mbiybe Verdzekov (January 22, 1931 – January 26, 2010) was a

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 ...

ian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...

from 1970 until 1982 and as archbishop from 1982 until 2006.

Life

Born in Shisong on January 22, 1931, Paul Mbiybe Verdzekov was ordained to the priesthood on December 20, 1961. On August 13, 1970, he was appointed

of the newly created diocese of

. Verdzekov received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on the following November 8 from Julius Joseph Willem Peeters, bishop of

Buéa Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and ...

, with the then bishop of

Garoua Garoua or Garua (Fula: Garwa 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabita ...

, Yves-Joseph-Marie Plumey, and the bishop of Sangmélima,

Pierre-Célestin Nkou Pierre-Célestin Nkou (8 November 1927 − 16 May 1983) was a Cameroonian Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1956, Nkou was named bishop of the Diocese of Sangmélima, Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), off ...

, serving as co-consecrators. On March 18, 1982 he became archbishop of Bamenda when his diocese was elevated to archdiocese by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. Archbishop Verdzekov retired on January 23, 2006. He died in 2010, aged 79, as Archbishop Emeritus of Bamenda.Catholic Hierarchy website

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verdzekov, Paul Mbiybe 1931 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa Cameroonian Roman Catholic archbishops People from Bamenda Roman Catholic archbishops of Bamenda Roman Catholic bishops of Bamenda