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Christian Tumi
Archbishop Emeritus of Douala
Tumi in September 2019.
Church Roman Catholic Church
Archdiocese Douala
See Douala
Appointed 31 August 1991
Reign ended 17 November 2009
Predecessor Simon Tonyé
Successor Samuel Kleda
Other posts Cardinal-Priest of Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno (1988-2021)
Orders
Ordination 17 April 1966
Consecration 6 January 1980
by Pope John Paul II
Created Cardinal 28 June 1988
Rank Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth name Christian Wiyghan Tumi
Born (1930-10-15)15 October 1930
Kikaikelaki, Cameroons
Died 2 April 2021(2021-04-02) (aged 90)
Douala, Cameroon
Previous post
  • Bishop of Yagoua (1979–82)
  • Coadjutor Archbishop of Garoua (1982–84)
  • Archbishop of Garoua (1984–91)
  • President of the Cameroon Episcopal Conference (1985–91)
Alma mater University of Fribourg
Motto Me voici je viens faire ta volonté
Coat of arms
Styles of
Christian Cardinal Tumi
Coat of arms of Christian Wiyghan Tumi.svg
Reference style His Eminence
Spoken style Your Eminence
Informal style Cardinal
See Douala

Christian Wiyghan Tumi (15 October 1930 – 2 April 2021) was a Cameroonian prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Douala from 1991 to 2009. He was bishop of Yagoua from 1980 to 1982. After serving as coadjutor bishop of Garoua beginning in 1982, he was bishop there from 1984 to 1991. He was made a cardinal 1988. Tumi was the first and so far the only cardinal from Cameroon.

Early life and ordination

Born on 15 October 1930 in Kikaikelaki, a small village near Kumbo, in the Nso clan of the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Tumi studied at local seminaries in Cameroon and Nigeria. He trained as a teacher in Nigeria and London, then earned a licentiate in theology in the Catholic University of Lyon and a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Buéa on 17 April 1966, and then served as a Vicar in Soppo for a year before becoming a professor at Bishop Rogan College's seminary. After studying abroad from 1969 to 1973, he returned to his diocese and was named rector of the seminary in Bambui.

Bishop and cardinal

Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue (cropped)
Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue (cropped)

On 6 December 1979, Tumi was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Yagoua. He received his episcopal consecration on 6 January 1980 from Pope John Paul II. On 19 November 1982 he was named archbishop coadjutor of Garoua and he succeeded as archbishop there when his predecessor's resignation was accepted on 17 March 1984.

In 1982 he was elected vice president of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon and in 1985 its president, a post he held until 1991.

Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal on 28 June 1988, assigning him as Cardinal-Priest the title of Santi Martiri dell'Uganda a Poggio Ameno on 28 June 1988. On 6 July 1991 he was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers. Tumi was named the Archbishop of Douala on 31 August 1991. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Tumi was critical of the government's attempt to suppress Anglophone culture in Cameroon and advocated a federation to allow the Francophone and Anglophone regions to coexist in Cameroon.

In 2009, Tumi led thousands in a march in Douala to protest Cameroon's endorsement of the Maputo Protocol, a women's rights charter promoted by the African Union. .....

Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue
Cardinal Tumi Grand Dialogue

Tumi was kidnapped on 5 November 2020, and released unharmed on 6 November 2020; his captors released video footage of their interrogation of Tumi.

Death

Tumi died in hospital in Douala on 2 April 2021 following an illness. After a video of his corpse in the hospital bed was released on the Internet; authorities denounced it as a violation of privacy and ordered an investigation.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Christian Tumi para niños

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