Person
Dieudonné Watio
From Wikipedia
Dieudonné Watio (born 18 March 1946) is a Cameroonian Catholic prelate who served as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bafoussam, in Cameroon from 5 March 2011 until his age-related retirement on 19 March 2021. Before that, from 1 April 1995 until 5 March 2011, he served as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nkongsamba, Cameroon. He was appointed bishop by Pope John Paul II He was consecrated on 10 June 1995 by Santos Abril y Castelló, Titular Archbishop of Tamada. On 5 March 2011, Pope Benedict XVI transferred him to the Diocese of Bafoussam and appointed him local ordinary there. He was installed at Bafoussam on 14 May 2011. On 19 March 2021, Pope Francis accepted his age-related retirement from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Bafoussam. He lives on as Bishop Emeritus of Bafoussam.
Background and education
Dieudonné Watio was born on 18 March 1946 at Mbouda, West Region, Cameroon. He studied philosophy and theology at seminary before he was ordained a priest.
Priest
He was ordained a priest on 5 July 1975. He served as a priest until 1 April 1995. While a priest, he served in various roles and locations, including:
Parish vicar and then parish priest of Bafou Parish from 1975 until 1982.
Parish priest of Doumelong Parish and director of Saint Thomas Aquinas College in Bafoussam from 1986 until 1987.
Rector of the minor seminary and principal of Saint Thomas College from 1987 until 1995.
Bishop
On 1 April 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Nkongsamba, Cameroon. He was consecrated bishop on 10 June 1995 at the diocesan Cathedral in Nkongsamba, by Santos Abril y Castelló, Titular Archbishop of Tamada assisted by Paul Mbiybe Verdzekov, Archbishop of Bamenda and André Wouking, Bishop of Bafoussam.
On 5 March 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him bishop of the Diocese of Bafoussam, Cameroon. He was installed at Bafoussam on 14 May 2011. On 19 March 2021, having attained the mandatory retirement age for Catholic bishops, retired from the pastoral care of the Catholic Diocese of Bafoussam. Pope Francis approved his retirement request effective that day.
This record is provisional: it was compiled from the cited sources but has not yet been checked by an InsideKamer editor.
Sources
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