Roman-Ruthenian Autonomous Missionary Province Established for Cameroon and Central Africa

Archbishop Mvondo,
Primate of Cameroon and Central Africa

By A. DiNardo

YAOUNDÉ 02 October 2026 (NRom)

A new ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church, the Autonomous Missionary Province of Cameroon and Central Africa, has been established by decree of His Apostolic Highness, the Most Holy Pope Radislav I of Rome-Ruthenia. The newly constituted missionary province will have its Primatial Archdiocese in Yaoundé, Cameroon, which will serve as the principal ecclesiastical see for its work in Cameroon and the wider Central African region. The Province is also admitted as a full member of the Apostolic Congregation of the Consistory. 

His Excellency Bishop Pierre Marie Mvondo, of the Congregation of Mary and of the Holy Apostles of Jesus, has been appointed Primate of the Autonomous Missionary Province. In connection with his appointment as primate, Monsignor Mvondo has also been granted the personal rank and dignity of Archbishop. The establishment of the province provides a formal ecclesiastical structure for the continuation and development of its missionary, pastoral, and sacramental ministry throughout the region. 

Liturgy in a parish in Cameroon.

The province identifies its episcopal succession with the Thục line of apostolic succession and will continue to celebrate and preserve the Roman Rite tradition. Its spiritual and pastoral life will also be shaped by a Franciscan charism, emphasizing missionary service, simplicity, fraternity, prayer, and care for the communities entrusted to its ministry.

From its primatial see in Yaoundé, the new province is expected to coordinate missionary activity, strengthen clergy and religious formation, support local communities, and foster the development of its ecclesiastical presence across Cameroon and Central Africa.

The decree marks a new stage in the organization of the church's missionary work in the region, placing the province under the primatial leadership of Archbishop Pierre Marie Mvondo while maintaining its Roman liturgical heritage and Franciscan spiritual identity.

Franciscan Minister General Appointed Archabbot

By Jean DuBois

FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 27 November 2020 (ORCNS) 

Archabbot Anthony Giunta, TOR Mar. 

Mgr. Abbot Anthony Giunta, TOR Mar., Minister-General of the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Franciscan order within the Anglican Patriarchate, was appointed by His Holiness and Eminence the Archfather to the personal rank and dignity of Archabbot in recognition of his countless years of service to the Church and as Minister-General of the Franciscans. His Excellency Archabbot Anthony serves as a hospital chaplain, police chaplain, fire chaplain, and Coast Guard Auxiliary chaplain. An active participant in emergency response efforts, the Archabbot has also been highly involved in serving during the COVID-19 pandemic, both pastorally and in virus test processing. 

The Archabbot was also given the special honour of being named a Canon Priest of the Patriarchal Chapter. The Chapter is the senior section of the Anticamera Nobile of the Patriarchal Household. Its members are prelates (ecclesiastical dignitaries) and serve as the senior-most clerical advisers of the Archfather. 

Coat of Arms of Archabbot Anthony
His personal arms are marshaled with the arms of
the Franciscan order. The ten tassels indicate the rank
of archabbot, and they are in purple instead of black 
as a privilege as a member of the Patriarchal Chapter.

 

Hospice Chaplain Ordained Lector, Exorcist, Acolyte, and Sub-Deacon

 FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 23 August 2020 (ORCNS) -- The Reverend Brother Elliott Francis, TOR Mar was ordained to the minor orders of Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte and further to the Sub-Diaconate yesterday. The rites were officiated by H.H.E. the Archfather and took place in his private chapel. Brother Elliott is a hospice chaplain and continues with his studies towards the priesthood. He also holds the office of Guardaroba (Wardrobe Master) of the Patriarchal Household and is a veteran of the US Army. 

In the Anglo-Roman Rite used by the Anglican Patriarchate (Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church), the ordination to the orders of Lector and Exorcist involve the laying on of a single hand by the ordaining bishop while imposing the Breviary and a book containing the rites of Exorcism respectively. The ordination to the order of Acolyte involves the laying on of both hands while the ordinand holds an unlit candle in the right hand and an empty cruet in the left. Each object imposed signifies the nature of the ministry of the particular order. 

At the ordination to the sub-diaconate, the first Holy Order that serves directly at the altar in the Holy Mass, both hands are laid on by the ordaining bishop, invoking the Holy Spirit. The new sub-deacon receives the amice, alb, maniple, and tunicle, the vestments of the sub-diaconate. The Book of Epistles is also imposed, signifying the right to read the Epistle at the mass. After the ritual, a chalice and paten are presented for the new sub-deacon to touch, signifying his ability to hold the Sacred Vessels. Similarly he is presented two cruets, one with wine and the other with water, and a lavabo basin and towel to touch in further symbolism of the role of the sub-diaconate. 

The Archfather ordains Brother Elliott as an Acolyte.

The Archfather imposes the Book Epistles during the
rites of ordination to the sub-diaconate. Brother Elliott
is vested in the tunicle and maniple,
the vestments of a sub-deacon. 

The Archfather and Brother Elliott after the ordination.

Patriarchal Encyclical on "Pachamama" and Idolatry

PATRIARCHAL SEE 13 November 2019 (ORCNS) - HIRH Don Rutherford, Florentine Archfather, issued the following Patriarchal encyclical in response to recent issues of pagan idols at the Vatican. 

RVTHERFORDVS I ANG.ITAL. P.I.

Praelatus Ecclesiae Debent Contra Idola Esse Patriarchal Encyclical on Pachamama in the Vatican and General Idolatry in the Holy Church
On the Feast of Saint Didacus, Confessor 

13 November A.D. 2019 

The prelates of the Church must be against idols. That indeed should not have to be said now or ever. Yet, the recent apparent veneration of the pagan idol of Pachamana and use of such pagan idols in the Vatican, including by the Pope, necessitates that we fulfill Our sacred duty to protect, safeguard, and perpetuate the Holy Gospels and the Faith of Jesus Christ. We in Our office, as ecclesiastical successor to the temporal patrimony of Pope Leo X, with Our Roman titular seat in the Stanze di Raffaello in the Holy See and Our titular Roman Catholic church of Santa Maria Antiqua, would fail in Our most sacred duty and obligation, even in the Eternal City to which Our patrimony is so deeply rooted and perpetually connected, if We did not speak clearly and plainly, both to those directly entrusted to Our spiritual oversight and to others of the Christian faithful.

Saint Didacus

At the recent Amazonian Synod, statues of Pachamama, a pagan idol of the indigenous peoples of the Andes, were introduced in the Vatican and used in inappropriate ways in a Christian Church. That included but was not limited to a blessing by the Holy Father himself of at least one such idol. Although pagan imagery may legitimately be kept or displayed in museum settings as examples of art, ancient culture, etc., it may in no way and at no time be kept or displayed by the Christian faithful in any way that might indicate approbation of them, official or otherwise, or that would constitute veneration or could be inferred to constitute veneration. This is even more applicable to the worldwide hierarchy of the Church, for it is to us to whom the faithful look for guidance. If the shepherd does not teach his flock the difference between safe pasture and a perilous cliff, then it can hardly be a surprise when the flock falls off that cliff. Such is the grave responsibility of the shepherd.

We, therefore, call upon the faithful in all communities to join together in acts of spiritual reparation for this atrocity committed in the Vatican and to pray for the conversion of all who participated in such events. We look particularly to Saint Didacus of Alcalá, whose feast we celebrate today, for guidance and intervention. Born in Seville, he was a Franciscan whose ministry involved helping to bring the indigenous people of the Canary Islands to the saving light and love of Our Lord. We further call upon the faithful in all communities to pray for the Holy Father, all prelates of the Holy Church, and all clergy around the world.

Rolling Parish - ARRCC Priest, Walsingham Guard Chaplain Serves Firefighters

LEXINGTON, S.C., USA 12 May 2018 (ORCNS) - Fire trucks are a well-known sight that indicates help is on the way. For Msgr. Abbot Anthony Giunta, TOR Mar, PhD, JCD, fire trucks are also a parish on wheels. As a fire chaplain, he not only helps the public he encounters, but serves those who serve. Firefighters and other first responders often are unable to attend church regularly and receive pastoral counseling, so Abbot Anthony brings the church to them. 

Msgr. Giunta leads worship on Sundays and also conducts scriptural studies on Wednesdays. Holy Week rites were also provided -- a much-needed opportunity for those who give up so much of their time in service to others. 

This sort of missionary service is nothing new to the Abbot. He is a long-time hospital chaplain who is frequently requested by name by patients. He also is a police chaplain and has served as a chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol. 

Abbot Anthony Giunta in uniform as a fire chaplain.

Abbot Anthony is the Superior General of the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a religious order within the Old Roman Catholic Patriarchate of St. Stephen (Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church). He also holds the rank of Colonel in the Walsingham Guard, the humanitarian organisation of the Patriarchate with a military heritage dating back to the Crusades, and is the Commandant of the Regiment of Chaplains.

Franciscan Brother and Seminarian Ordained as Porter

LEXINGTON, KY 13 May 2016 (ORCNS) - Rev. Br. Dom Elliott Francis, TOR Mar. received the First Tonsure as a cleric and was ordained to the Order of Porter in the Old Roman Catholic Patriarchate of St. Stephen at Christ Church Cathedral today. Br. Elliott is a member of the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary (TOR Mar) and a seminarian. The officiant was Mgr. Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, Patriarch of St. Stephen. The First Tonsure, now a snipping of the hair in five locations in the form of a cross, is symbolic of the full round shave area of the head typically worn by clerics and religious in the past and still some today. 

Mgr. Rutherford, Card. Patriarch of St. Stephen,
administers the First Tonsure to Dom Elliott Francis

It is traditionally through the First Tonsure that a candidate enters the clerical state. The Order of Porter is the first of the Minor Holy Orders and is also typically a stepping stone on the way to the priesthood. During the ordination of a Porter, the candidate receives the keys to the church, opens the church doors, and rings the church bells, all symbolic of the traditional and historic duties of that office. 

An audience was held by theCardinal Patriarch prior to the
ordination during which time Dom Elliott (right)
took the oaths of ordination

The Patriarchal See of St. Stephen is an ancient, autonomous, semi-autocephalous Old Roman Catholic Patriarchate with Anglican patrimony descended from the Roman Catholic See of Utrecht. The See of Utrecht has remained independent since 1145, when the Holy See in Rome granted autonomy. Modernly also known as the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church (ARRCC), the Patriarchate continues administrative independence while embracing as brethren other Catholic and Anglican bodies, such as the current Roman Communion (commonly referred to as the Roman Catholic Church), the Anglican Ordinariate, and the Anglican Communion.

New Franciscan Postulant Admitted

CHARLOTTE, NC, 20 May 2015 (ORCNS) - Sister Rebecca Clare Naomi Crowe Burch, p/TOR Mar. was admitted as a postulant to the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary (TOR Mar.) on May 18th in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. The rite of admission was officiated by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Abbot Anthony Giunta, the Minister General of the order. Also participating were Rt. Rev. Thomas Gordon, Rt. Rev. Luis Morales, and Canon Rusty Marts, of the OAC.

The TOR Mar. is a Franciscan Third Order Regular, meaning its members are clerics, laymen, or laywomen who take vows of chastity according to their state in life, obedience, and stability. The first order (monks and friars) and second order (nuns) Franciscans are exclusively unmarried and take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Members of the Third Order, or "tertiaries," otherwise participate in good works according to Franciscan tradition. "Regular" tertiaries, such as the TOR Mar, have a habit, while secular tertiaries typically do not. The TOR Mar. operates within the Patriarchal See of St. Stephen, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church.

Msgr. Abbot Anthony imposes the white veil on
Sister Rebecca Clare as Bishop Gordon looks on.

L-R: Mr. Gordon, Canon Marts, Sister Rebecca Clare,
Bishop Gordon, Bishop Morales, and Msgr. Giunta.