Note: Archbishop William E. Lori will ordain five men to the priesthood June 18 at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland. The following is a profile of one of those future priests. Click here to read profiles of the other new priests.
Deacon Maurice Sunde Afor gets a kick out of combining his recreational passion with his ministry.
He prefers to stick to the defensive end of the field when he is booting around a soccer ball with his buddies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park.
“I’m a defender of the goal, and a defender of the faith,” Deacon Sunde Afor joked.
The 34-year-old native of Nkambe, Cameroon, is one of five transitional deacons who are scheduled to be ordained priests June 18 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.
After spending time in his formation working in a diverse group of parishes ranging from St. Ambrose in West Baltimore to Sacred Heart, Glyndon, in the upper reaches of Baltimore County, Deacon Sunde Afor is eagerly anticipating his ordination and ministry as a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “I can’t wait.”
Deacon Sunde Afor grew up in a household with two sisters and four brothers, third in the pecking order of father Afor Silvester Nji and mother Winifred Afor.
He attended Catholic primary school before attending the government-run bilingual high school in Nkambe.
“Growing up, my parents taught me that our faith was the most important thing to cherish,” Deacon Sunde Afor said. “Prayer has always been an essential part of my life.”
He said his faith grew as he got involved with a Christian group during high school.
He was working as a carpenter, building furniture when he received his call to the priesthood after a little nudge from Father Robert Tanto.
“My father took me to church and introduced me to the pastor who was leading the Bible study,” said Deacon Sunde Afor, who is sponsored by St. Philip Neri in Linthicum Heights. “He was the one who told me, ‘You have good skills making beautiful things from wood, but you also have beautiful people skills that could be used to mend people’s lives.”
With the seed sown for the priesthood in a region of Cameroon that is primarily known for farming, Deacon Sunde Afor decided to enter minor seminary in Buea, Cameroon. He was then admitted to St. John Mary Vianney Center for Spiritual Formation in Bafut and progressed to major seminary at St. Thomas Aquinas in Bambui, where he studied for three years to earn a degree in pontifical studies from Rome. From there, he was sent to a pastoral internship and more studies at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.
He’s been serving in Baltimore under an arrangement with the bishop of Cameroon and Archbishop William E. Lori for the past six years.
His mission now is to serve the people of the Baltimore area before returning to Cameroon.
“I’m focused on sharing what I’ve learned; just being present and serving as a compassionate priest,” he said. “I want to be available for the people to help them grow in their faith.
“Every parish comes with its own challenges. What I want to do most is reach out to those who aren’t in the pews. You can’t get a complete grasp of your faith coming to Mass once a year. The challenge is to get people who aren’t coming to church regularly to start attending. It’s about evangelization.”
He sums up his philosophy of service by saying, “God does not call us because we are qualified. He qualifies us for ministry because he has called us.”
He says he gets the most satisfaction from his ministry when he speaks with people after Mass and they tell him they were touched by his words. “It encourages me and makes me see that God uses me to reach out to people.”
Deacon Sunde Afor said he feels fulfilled by any outreach work he does, and his goal is to become a simple parish priest and then see where that takes him whether that’s staying in Baltimore or returning to Africa.
He said he likes reaching back to Cameroon to connect with his family and gets to visit about every two years.
When he has time to relax, he likes to walk in the park, watch movies and play soccer with his fellow seminarians and against students from Towson University and Loyola University Maryland.
He said he’s looking forward to watching the World Cup matches in November. He knows he’d be in no better place than Baltimore if the city succeeds in its bid to land the 2026 World Cup.
“Oh my goodness,” he said. “What an opportunity that would be.”
Sort of like the opportunity that he feels blessed to have found himself in at St. Mary’s Seminary.
“These have been good times,” he said. “I can’t thank my family and the people who have helped me along this journey enough. They have been patient with me and trusted me.”
He said the rector at St. Mary’s Seminary, Sulpician Father Phillip J. Brown, and the dean of students, Sulpician Father Gladstone H. Stevens, have been particularly helpful.
“They’ve been a great sense of strength and hope,” he said.
After his ordination, Deacon Sunde Afor hopes to be a base of strength and hope for the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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