On 27 December 2016 the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the
pastoral governance of the diocese of Mbalmayo, Cameroon, presented by
His Exc. Mgr. Adalbert Ndzana. The Holy Father appointed Rev. Joseph Marie Ndi-Okalla of the clergy of Mbalmayo, Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of Central Africa (Yaoundé) and Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith as Bishop of the diocese of Mbalmayo.
Rev. Joseph Marie Ndi-Okalla was born on November 21, 1957 in Douala, in the homonymous Archdiocese. After primary school, he entered the Minor Seminary of Mbalmayo. He followed the philosophical courses only for one year at the Inter-diocesan Major Seminary in Notre Dame de l'Immaculée Conception Nkolbison, in Yaounde.
Later, he was sent to continue his education at the Séminaire Universitaire (des Carmes) of the Institut Catholique de Paris.
He was ordained a priest on August 13, 1983 for the Diocese of Mbalmayo.
He continued his studies in France, at the Institut Catholique de Paris and at Sorbonne University, where he studied Theology and Histoire et Civilisation, earning a Maîtrise in Biblical Theology and Systematics. He then went to the University of Bonn, where he obtained a Doctorate in Dogmatic Theology.
He has held the following positions: Assistant priest; professor of Missiology; Director of Studies at the Inter-diocesan Major Seminary; Responsible for the permanent formation of the clergy. Since 2011 he has been Vice-Rector of the Catholic University of Central Africa (Yaoundé) and Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.