In a spirit of solidarity, the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary (MSHR), Cameroon Region, and the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis (TSSF) gathered in Tobin, Kumbo Diocese, North West Region of Cameroon, from November 28 to 29, 2025, to mourn Mama Ancela Veye, mother of Sr. Linda Kiven, MSHR, Sr. Anna Kiven, TSSF, and biological sister of Sr. Alphonsa Kiven, TSSF.
The Sisters had joined the family members and friends for the removal of the mortal remains of Mama Ancela from the Shisong Hospital Mortuary in the early hours of November 29, 2025, which was conveyed, first to the family compound, and then to the Immaculate Conception Parish, Tobin, for the funeral Mass and burial at the Parish Cemetery.
The funeral Mass was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Ernest Mailliy, Parish Priest of the host Parish, and concelebrated by a score of Priests from within and outside the Diocese.
In a homily during the Mass, Rev. Fr. Jude Fanwong Nkwawir, Parish Priest of Holy Family Parish, Tabinken, reflected on the concept that “Alive or dead, we belong to the Lord” drawn from the Second Reading for the day.
To belong to the Lord, he buttressed, is to know the purpose of our lives. “To live for the glory of the Lord, to live in peace and harmony with people. To show them love, sympathy and solidarity, to treat them with respect and dignity as human beings”.
Touching on the Gospel, he reiterated that to belong to the Lord is to follow the example of the Good Thief, who, though a criminal, had the fear of God in him, recognized the identity of Christ, was willing to reconcile with God, and to be with Him.
“To belong to the Lord is to have the fear of God, to have respect for God, to recognize His presence in our lives. It is to acknowledge your own fault and wrongdoing, to repent, to recognize the Lordship of Jesus, to surrender yourself to Jesus, to accept his Kingdom, like the good thief who was privileged to convert, to repent and to accept Jesus in his life,” he underpinned.
According to him, the Good Thief could be said to belong to God because he recognized who Jesus was and turned to him in Prayer: “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom,” and then followed Jesus’ reassuring response: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Reflecting on the life of late Mama Ancela Veye, born on January 1, 1940 as the first child in a family of eight, to Shufai Alex Fonki and Mama Veronica Yembom, and who had been called home on October 24, 2025, the same day and month that her husband, Mr. Paul Kiven had died 29 years ago, (October 24, 1996), the Priest who had known her since from his youth, described her as “a woman of faith and prayer, a dedicated Christian, wife and mother”.
She was active in the Church and was a committed member of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA). Being a woman of faith, according to him, she endured her sickness and suffering with patience, love, and self-abandonment to Christ.
“We can say that she died a good death, since she received the Sacrament regularly, especially during her sickness, till the Lord called her back home,” he opined.
According to Fr. Nkwawir, late Mama Ancela left a good legacy because, being a woman of faith and prayer, she had brought up her children in a God-fearing way, created a conducive environment to enable the birth and the growth of her 9 children; an environment that would nurture Christian values, virtues, and principles. To him, the emergence of two of her daughters: Srs. Linda Kiven and Anna Kiven, as Religious, is a testament of her commitment, dedication, prayer life, spirit of sacrifice, and loving service.
Adding, the Priest affirmed that Mama Ancela herself was brought up in a Christian environment, as her own mother, Yaa Veronica Yembom, was a woman of prayer and a member of the Pilgrim Association, and was one of those who had trekked to Bamenda on pilgrimage to receive Pope St. John Paul II. Such a Christian environment, he underscored, also influenced her own biological sister, Sr. Alphonsa Kiven, to be a Religious.
The homilist vividly recalled the piece of advice Mama Ancela had given him when he felt the Call to the Priesthood and was about to leave for the Seminary: “My child, do not look back because the devil is behind you trying to bring you down. If you look back, he will smash mud into your eyes and you will not be able to see the road again”. That for him was reminiscent of the First Letter of St. Peter 5:8-9, which reads, “Be calm but vigilant because your enemy, the devil, is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith,” and that kept him in check.
The Priest expressed with certainty that Mama Ancela died as a happy and fulfilled mother, as seen in the care she received from her children and loved ones in her frail days. He maintained that for all Christians, death is not the end but a transition to eternal life, “to the fullness of life in God, to a life of glory and happiness. It is also a time for us to look at the life the person lived and see what lessons we can draw from it; the virtues of the person, to help us live and practice our Christian faith, while preparing for our own death”.
“As we pray for the repose of the soul of Mama Ancela, let us pray that her death may be an occasion for us to reflect on the purpose of our own lives, and see how we can live as Christians, and be preparing for our own death, for alive or dead, we belong to the Lord,” he prayed.
In her biography read after the Mass, Sr. Linda Kiven described her mother, Mama Ancela Veye, as “an icon of faith”. According to her, her mother never missed morning Mass and would always bring her children along, especially when they were still young and living with her. She would not only ensure that the children availed of the Sacrament of Confession, but would personally bring them to join the confessional line, so that they were at right with God.
She was generous, loving, and caring, and believed so much in the transforming power of education, as seen in her commitment to educating all her nine children, who are all alive and successful in life, even though she herself never saw the “four walls of a classroom,” according to Sr. Linda.
In her opinion, Mama Veye has fought the good fight, she has finished the race, and has kept the faith (2Tim 4:7). All that is left for her is “the crown of unfading glory.
Present at the Funeral Mass were a delegation of Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary from Bamenda, led by Sr. Martina Ogar, Regional Leader, the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of St. Anne, who had generously provided accommodation for the Sisters who had come from outside, together with the Notre Dame Sisters in Tobin, the Brothers of St. Martin the Porres. Others were members of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA), family members, friends, and well-wishers.
By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (Sister Communicator)
