The President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul BIYA met with Archbishop Paul Ricard Gallagher, the Holy See Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisation, on 18 November 2024.
Mgr. Paul Richard Gallagher told reporters, after the one-hour audience, that they exchanged on two issues of mutual interest.
“We talked about relations between the Holy See and Cameroon, and the President remembered his several visits to the Vatican. He is probably the Head of State that may have visited the Vatican more than anybody else,” he said.
Both personalities equally appraised the visits of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI to Cameroon.
They concluded their discussions with a review of the current international situation focusing on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the war in the Middle East, the general situation in Africa, and the prospects for the new American President.
Yaounde and the Vatican share a longstanding and cordial relationship. Pope Francis’ emissary highlighted the free exchange of information and news through the Apostolic Nuncio in Yaounde and the Ambassador to the Holy See.
Mgr. Paul Richard Gallagher commended the excellent relationship with the Catholic Bishops of Cameroon.
“They were very active in the recent Synod of Bishops, and I see here a catholic community which is very active and determined to be of service to the population, and in that the Holy See will be very supportive,” he said.
The Vatican Envoy who met the Head of State at the Unity Palace is in Yaounde to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Framework Agreement between Cameroon and the Holy See – ratified in July 2014.
