Inspired by the spirituality of Charles de Foucauld, he became the first evangelizers of the peoples of the North, in particular of the Kirds, poor missionary among the poor. The memory of Father Zoccarato del PIME, who knew him
On Saturday 20 May 2023, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the Decree concerning the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Simon Mpeke, known as Baba Simon, diocesan priest, born around 1906 and died on August 13, 1975 in Édéa in Cameroon. He is known as the “father of the entered“, an ethnic group from the north of the country of which he was the evangelist.
I met Baba Simon several times in Tokombere, close to the Little Brothers of the Gospel of Mayo Uldeme. I always saw him barefoot and in a poor skirt, in dialogue with everyone. Living the mission, not far from him, I felt he was a witness of Jesus and an example of a poor missionary among the poor. Simon Mpeke’s life, all given to people of various languages, cultures and religions, was a testimony of an African church that takes its first steps and becomes a missionary.
Simon, born into the Adié family, had entered the small seminary of Mvolyé in Yaoundé in 1924. He was one of the first eight Cameroonian priests and was ordained in 1935. First vicar in various Catholic missions in the Sanaga Maritime region, he became pastor of the parish of New-Bell à Douala, practically created by him. He leaves this city for the North in 1959 and settles in Tokombéré. First African priest to arrive in that region and to respond to the missionary call that drove him among non-evangelized populations of the North who had always rejected Muslim domination.
In February 1951, Sister Magdaleina Hutin, founder of the Little Sisters of Jesus, arrives in Douala and, at the invitation of Monsignor Bonneau, goes to New-Bell, where she is struck by the fervor that reigns there. Bonneau was very open to the new form of presence in the world proposed by the Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Jesus. He welcomes the Brothers and places them in the New-Bell neighborhood among those suffering from leprosy. Simon will be the confessor of this fraternity.
In 1953, during a trip to Cameroon, Father Voillaume, the true “founder” of the current of Foucaultian spirituality, came to Douala. She notes in his diary: «I saw for a long time Don Simon, pastor of New-Bell, and I had lunch with them in the parish. I believe that the secular institute should be seriously included in the Cameroonian clergy… I am sure that this year will leave a strong mark on the development of the postulate and on the beginning of the secular institute among the Cameroonians».
Meanwhile, Guy Riobé, secretary of the Priestly Union of the Brothers of Jesus, commenting on the encyclical The Gift of Faithrecently published, declares: «The union and each of us should put ourselves in total availability and in generous openness to everything that Jesus will ask of us to make us ever more present in spirit, heart and soul to the ‘whole Africa’.
Monsignor Yves Plumey omi bishop and great missionary in Northern Cameroon, increasingly ardently desires the establishment of an active branch of the Brothers of Jesus fraternity in Mayo-Ouldeme; he presses Monsignor Mongo to obtain Cameroonian priests from the Union. During this period, Simon returns to Monsignor Mongo who says to him: «Are you asking me to go to the North of Cameroon? I do not allow you to go, my friend: it is I who am sending you, because I think that Christianity in Cameroon will not be solid until it rests on two feet: the South and the North. I’ll help you as best I can.”
Having crossed the threshold of 50 years, a new phase opens for this seeker of God. He is an influential pastor of the largest parish in Douala. Seeing him leave, his friends think he’s crazy. Mongo, commenting on the event, will say: «It will be our personal response to the The Gift of Faithhoping that France will come to our rescue, responding to Pius XII’s appeal».
Simon writes to the brothers of the Union: «I will remain a member of the Union among the Kirdi». However, it is better to call them “pagans” or “uninitiated” … Out of a million and a half inhabitants of Northern Cameroon, about one million are ethnic entered, expelled from their lands and from their crops – following their refusal to submit to Muslims – and then forced to settle on mountains with very hard soil and not very suitable for cultivation. In 1958, Father Voillaume, passing through Mayo-Ouldeme, rejoiced at an imminent turning point: in fact, his thoughts go to the arrival of Father Simon Mpeke who would join the Little Brothers of the Gospel. He adds: “I hope he can get used to and understand well these populations so different from those of the South”.
He understood the Kirdi
Resting on the certainty that man is created in the image and likeness of God, Baba Simon thought it was urgent to give entered the tools to free oneself from all slavery. It meant teaching them to get out of their misery and enter the Christian life. It was up to him to give the tools and call. «The rest – he said – what is principal, and that is conversion, belongs to God. Our role is reduced to that of sower. We have to work without worrying about the result; Baptism depends on a personal decision by which each one commits himself on the path of a new life. The end remains God, the end is not us. And God is encountered in freedom”.
For a long time the colonial government had tried to bring down the entered from the mountains and to school the population, but all efforts had always met stubborn opposition. These men of the mountains resisted every attempt which was seen as a cultural aggression that did not take into account the identity of the people. Baba Simon also insisted on the importance of school. He understood, however, that above all it was a question of gaining the trust of the entered. This is possible in mutual knowledge, in the continuous presence in the midst of the people, where they live, suffer, love, work and pray. From here was born what was called “the school under the tree”. A school for all to see, in the heart of the life of the entered.
The spirit does not die
One day in 1976, I stopped at the house of old Digdan, a thinker… Together we share memories. And we come to the great misfortune of all mountains: the death of Baba Simon. I offer him the souvenir photo. To my surprise he takes it with both hands and says: «Ousse,! (“Thank you”). Baba, Baba Simon, ousted, ousted!». She smiles at him, shakes her head, speaks quickly. One of his women approaches; I also give her the photo of her. He takes her in hand and fervently she too says: «Ousse, Baba Simon» about ten times. I venture to think aloud: “Where is Baba Simon now?” Old Digdan reflects silently and then: «There are two things: Baba Simon’s body is like millet left on the ground, like grass not harvested, like a tree that falls. All of this becomes earth. Baba becomes earth. And then there is the spirit and the spirit goes to Jigla (God) and lives». «How is it up there, with God? No one knows Jigla, no one has seen him, no one can say what God’s house is like. Anyone who says: “I know!” is a liar…». I listened in silence. “Life goes on: I, Digdan, when I die, I have children who have children, my life goes on.” «And Baba who has no children?». “Baba is the father of our spirit, and the spirit never dies!” (Jeanne Michel)