Archbishop of Douala
Samuel Kleda was born in 1959 in Golompuy, in the Diocese of Yagoua. After attending primary school in his village, he went on to the "De Mazenod" College in Ngaoundéré before entering the Major Seminary in Yaoundé. He was ordained a priest on March 9, 1986. Following his ordination, he held the following positions: parochial vicar in Kaélé and assistant at the local high school (1986–88); Rector of the Minor Seminary in Guider, Garoua (1988–94); and pursued a licentiate in Theology at the Urbaniana and in Sacred Scripture at the Biblicum in Rome (1994–98). Since 1998, he has served as spiritual director of the "Saint Augustin" Major Seminary in Maroua and as a teacher of Sacred Scripture.