Cameroon: Death of Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge, Bishop Emeritus of Mamfe

The prelate was called to God on July 29, 2026, following illness at the Saint-Jean-de-Dieu health center in Mamfe at the age of 88.

The diocese of Mamfe in the South-West administrative region of Cameroon loses its former bishop. Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge was a man who dedicated almost his entire life to the service of God and the Catholic Church in Cameroon. According to the current bishop of Mamfe, the one who returns to the Lord’s House served as a priest for 60 years and as a bishop for 27 years, guiding his ministries by the will of God. A will he applied with faithfulness, courage, simplicity, and joy.

Bishop Aloyisius Abangalo Fondono, in a statement, paid tribute to his predecessor. He acknowledges that the latter served the Lord and His Gospel with dedication, constancy, and faith. He thanks God for his strong faith, for the wisdom he developed through study and a deep spirit of contemplation. He also thanks God for his courage and vision demonstrated in his leadership, spirit of service, and in the decisions made for the good of the young diocese entrusted to him.

The diocese was indeed entrusted to him on February 9, 1999. He served there as bishop until his retirement on January 25, 2014. Just before his appointment as bishop by Pope John Paul II followed by his consecration on April 21, 1999, by the late Cardinal Christian Tumi, he served as a priest in the diocese of Mamfe. Born on December 28, 1938, in Muea in the South-West region, Francis Teke Lysinge was ordained a priest on April 17, 1966.

After the calling to God of the emeritus bishop, the current ordinary of the place entrusts the soul of Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge to the merciful love of God. Awaiting the official funeral program, “I urge all priests and lay faithful of our diocese to pray and have masses celebrated for the repose of the soul of Bishop Francis,” wrote the prelate.

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