Jordi Mas Castells

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Jordi Mas Castells (14 March 1930 – 18 November 2010) was a Spanish priest who lived and worked in Cameroon from 1961 until his death. He was born in La Garriga, Catalonia, and was ordained at 24. After ordination, he served in Esplugues de Llobregat, La Geltrú, and the Miraculosa parish in Barcelona.

In 1961 he became a missionary in Cameroon, initially in the south and later in the Far North near Lake Chad. He focused on people’s basic needs rather than traditional missionary work. Mas built hundreds of wells to provide drinking water, especially helping girls who had to walk long distances. He helped found hospitals with Swiss doctor Giuseppe Maggi: Tokombéré (1962), Zina (1970), and Mada (1978). In Mada, he used a jeep-ambulance to reach patients across a large area that includes parts of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

After Maggi died in 1988, Mas began building schools. In 1998 he opened the Blangoua professional school, CEFAVIHAR, near Lake Chad, offering training in mechanics, electricity, welding, carpentry, business management, sewing, typing, and computing, along with a primary school serving about 500 pupils. He also established FEMAK (Femmes de Makary) in 2008, a meeting place for women of different religions with sewing, computers, vegetable gardens, and health education.

Mas helped provide housing for teachers and charity workers and a residence for volunteers. In 2009 he planned a project to grow spirulina seaweed. He fell ill in 2010, returned to La Garriga for treatment, and died there on 18 November 2010. He is buried in La Garriga. In 2008 the town council of La Garriga named him Illustrious Citizen.