17 African cardinals at Pope election
People watch a screen in Saint Peter’s Square showing cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, on the first day of the conclave to elect the next Pope yesterday. Photo | Reuters
What you need to know:
- Seventeen African cardinals are participating in the exercise to elect the new head of the Catholic Church.
If you asked Africans who they’d want as the next Pope, most would likely choose one of their own. Yesterday, a total of 133 cardinals gathered in the Conclave to elect the next Pope. However, two cardinals wrote to the Holy See declining attendance due to ill.
Of the 133 in the Conclave, 17 are from Africa, representing countries including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Tanzania. The number would have been 18, but one Kenyan cardinal declined to attend. The countries with the most electors are Italy (17), United States (10), Brazil (seven), France and Spain (five), Argentina, Canada, India, Poland and Portugal (four).
The African cardinals
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu attends the Holy Mass, celebrated for the election of the new pope, presided over by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, May 7, 2025. Photo | Reuters
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, a Capuchin Franciscan, from DRC is one of the most decorated Cardinals from Africa. Many social media users and African Catholics believe that the current Archbishop of Kinshasa, who also serves as the elected head of African bishops under the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), would be a fitting choice if the next Pope were to come from Africa. Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, 58, from the Central African Republic, will be watching the ongoing process to choose the next pope—like everyone else, he can only wait for the white smoke.
Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla speaks to the media, ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope, as seen from Rome, Italy, May 6, 2025.
Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, 61, the Archbishop of Juba in South Sudan, has steadily risen through the Church ranks and earned the respect of many in the conflict-hit country. Sources say he has been a strong and vocal figure during the ongoing civil war.
Cardinal Stephen Brislin, 68, the Archbishop of Cape Town
Cardinal Stephen Brislin, 68, the Archbishop of Cape Town, is a key figure in the pastoral care of the people of South Africa.
Reports show that he oversaw the controversial synthesis report from his archdiocese for the Synod on Synodality, which called for major changes, such as broadening the definition of family and rethinking the Church’s teachings on the dignity of human life. At the same time, he has remained a strong defender of marriage and family.
Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke, 62, the Bishop of Ekwulobia in Nigeria
Cardinal Peter Ebere Okpaleke, 62, the Bishop of Ekwulobia in Nigeria, is another key figure to watch during the papal elections. Back in August, when local clergy and lay people rejected his appointment to the Diocese of Ahiara, Pope Francis made a surprising move by elevating him to cardinal and creating a new diocese for him—a decision that shocked many. Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop Emeritus of Nairobi, Kenya, is known for his bold stance on moral issues and for defending the dignity of the Church in his country. He drew international attention when he responded to then-US President Barack Obama’s support for LGBTQ rights in Africa, saying that the United States had “ruined their own societies.”
The other cardinals
Two cardinals from Algeria and Ivory Coast—Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco and Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo—are both 63 years old. Cardinal Protase Rugambwa, 64, from Tanzania, is only the third cardinal in his country’s history. Cardinal Antoine Kambanda, 66, the Archbishop of Kigali, is Rwanda’s first cardinal and a survivor of the 1994 genocide. Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana, 70, leads the Archdiocese of Toamasina in Madagascar.
ALL PHOTOS: 17 African cardinals at Pope election
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, 72, a Spanish-born Salesian, heads the Archdiocese of Rabat in Morocco, a Muslim-majority country. Also in the College are Cardinal Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, Archbishop Emeritus of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso; Cardinal Arlindo Gomes Furtado, Bishop of Santiago in Cape Verde, who was elevated a decade ago and is now 75. At 76, Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana serves as the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences. In Ethiopia, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, also 76, is the Archbishop of Addis Ababa. Cardinal Robert Sarah, the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and Cardinal Jean-Pierre Kutwa, the third cardinal from Ivory Coast and Archbishop Emeritus of Abidjan.
