2025 Month of Peace: Cameroon

Each year, from the first Sunday of Advent until the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the Dominican Family celebrates the Dominican Month for Peace: a time of prayer and commitment focused on a country in the world facing situations of conflict. 

This year, the spotlight is on Cameroon, under the theme: “Truth and Justice for a Lasting Peace.” During this period, Dominican communities are called to organize pastoral activities, promote solidarity initiatives, and offer prayers for this African country. 

Cameroon is home to members of all of the branches of the Dominican Family.   Along with the people of Cameroon, our Dominican brothers and sisters face struggles in a country now divided with some 25% of the land controlled by paramilitary groups. Dominican Nuns and members of the Dominican Laity in Cameroon live within the volatile separatist region.  There are members of the Dominican Family serving on both sides of the separation.

Cameroon has a colonial legacy that dates back to its division between British and French colonial powers. This has created a continuous history of tension seen in economic marginalization, linguistic and cultural differences between the language groups and political dominance of the French Cameroon majority over the English Cameroon minority.

These tensions erupted into an armed conflict in 2016 and continues to this day. The result is widespread human rights abuses, including killings, abductions, attacks on schools and other public institutions and private properties by both government forces and separatist groups.

One focus of the Month of Peace will seek to shed light on the conflict and on the Dominican Monastery, which has become a site of refuge for internally displaced persons who are fleeing violence. Bambui, where the Dominican Nuns live, is located in the outskirts of Bamenda, which is in the North West region of Cameroon. It is one of the largest cities in English Cameroon and the hardest hit region of the conflict. Funds donated for Cameroon during the Month of Peace will be used to make critical repairs to the monastery. This will be of great help to the nuns and to the suffering people who seek a safe haven with them.