Bishop Jan Ozga

Bishop Jan Ozga is a priest of the Archdiocese of Przemyśl who serves as a missionary in Africa; he has been the Bishop of the Diocese of Doumé–Abong Mbang since 1997. He is currently in Rome with a group of parishioners on a Jubilee Year pilgrimage. Bishop Ozga’s journey to Cameroon began in an unassuming way—with parish announcements. He recalls: "I saw a notice sticking out: one hundred missionaries as a gift from the Polish Church to the Universal Church. At that moment, I became convinced that I was meant to go on the missions and leave everything behind." Although he had not previously considered missionary service, a single sentence was enough for him to abandon his existing plans. In 1988—as he himself recounts—he set off for Cameroon on a six-year contract. He ended up staying for good. "It has been 37 years now. All that time in the same part of Cameroon—one of the poorest regions, filled with tropical forests." The Diocese of Doumé–Abong Mbang, which he leads, covers an area of 37,000 square kilometers. Within its territory lie places—villages—that have never seen a missionary on a systematic and organized basis. "We are engaged in initial evangelization," the prelate points out.