TWO Africans are among the select group of leading Catholic Bishops who were appointed as Cardinals by Pope Francis at the weekend, raising speculation that the next Pope may be from Africa.
The new Cardinals are Peter Eberechukwu Okpaleke of Ekwulobia, in the Eastern region of Nigeria and Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr from Ghana.
Okpaleke and Baawobr joined the College of Cardinals which had 229 Cardinals. He now becomes the fourth Cardinal from Nigeria, the most populous nation in Africa. A total of 131 of the new Cardinals will elect the successor to Pope Francis.
In 2010, Baawobr became the first African to be elected to head the Missionaries of Africa, a society founded at the end of the 19th century by French Cardinal Charles Lavigerie.
The former Bishop of Wa was also elected president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. This was a first for a Ghanaian since the institution was established in 1969.
In a recent interview with Vatican News, after the news of his nomination was announced, Okpaleke spoke of doing the work of of the church in “a context of economic hardships, privatization of state resources by a few at the expense of the majority, insecurity of lives and property, and progressive weakening of institutions of the state, among others”.
Okpaleke also told Vatican News about the need for pastors to be “participants in the culture” in order to allow “the Gospel of Jesus Christ to penetrate such cultures, and to transform, and to build a dialogue between the Gospel and the culture.
He said he would pay special attention to “grassroots evangelization of Christians, integral human formation for social transformation in the power of the Gospel, and interreligious dialogue in the country that is split along a Christian-Muslim religious divide.”
Okpaleke said he drew inspiration from, among others, the faithful, priests, religious and laypeople. Many, he pointed out to Vatican News, “are heroic in their lives and it is a privilege to encounter them, share the faith with them and minister to them.”
He spoke about the experiences of Christians in some parts of Nigeria, who were still being persecuted. He said their perseverance was “an invaluable gift to the Church” which the synodal process can gather for the enrichment of the global Church.
To the Nigerian faithful, the Cardinal offered a message of perseverance, urging them not to lose faith in the hope that the Lord will see us through the present challenges if “we hold firmly to our faith, work and pray.
The Pope, speaking at the Ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of Cardinals held in St. Peter’s Basilica said:
“Dear brother Cardinals, by the light and in the strength of this fire walk the holy and faithful people from whom we were taken and to whom we have been sent as ministers of Christ the Lord.
“Today, too, Jesus wants to bring this fire to the earth. He wants to light it anew on the shores of our daily lives. Jesus calls us by name; He looks us in the eye and He asks: Can I count on you?”
