As the College of Cardinals prepares for the Conclave set to begin on May 7 to elect the successor of the late Pope Francis following his passing on Easter Monday, April 21, focus is on the 135 Cardinal Electors out of the 252 Cardinals.
Europe, with 53 Cardinal Electors, has the largest number, followed by Asia’s 23. Africa ranks third with 18 Cardinal Electors; South America has 17, while North America has 16. Oceania and Central America have the fewest, with each of the two regions having four Cardinal Electors.
The late Pope Francis, who was laid to rest on Saturday, April 26 in his “beloved” Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major created 108 of the 135 Cardinal Electors. His immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI created 22; and five were created by St. Pope John Paul II.
Here are the 18 Cardinal Electors from Africa, from the youngest to the oldest
1. Dieudonné Cardinal Nzapalainga, 58: Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR)
The first Cardinal in the Central African Republic (CAR) and the youngest Cardinal at the time of being named in 2016, Dieudonné Cardinal Nzapalainga of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bangui was born on 14 March 1967 in the Diocese of Bangassou, CAR.
He was ordained a Priest in the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (CSSp/Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers) on 9 August 1998, and proceeded to mission in France, before returning to CAR, where he served as the President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Central Africa.
On 14 May 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangui, and in November 2015, he welcomed the late Pope Francis in the Diocese of Bangui, where the Holy Father opened the first door of the Holy Year of Mercy.
In 2013, the Spiritan Cardinal participated, alongside the president of the Islamic Council and the president of the Evangelical Alliance in Bangui, in the foundation of the interfaith Platform for Peace in Central Africa.
He was elevated to Cardinal during the 19 November 2016 Consistory. He is a member of Dicasteries for Evangelization; and for Inter-religious Dialogue.
2. Stephen Ameyu Martin Cardinal Mulla, 61: Juba in South Sudan
Born in January 1964, Stephen Ameyu Martin Cardinal Mulla of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba Archdiocese in South Sudan was incardinated in the country’s Torit Catholic Diocese at his Diaconate Ordination in October 1990 and ordained a Priest in April 1991.
The alumnus of the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome where he obtained his Master’s and doctoral degrees in Dogmatic Theology started his Episcopal Ministry in March 2019 as Bishop of his native Diocese of Torit. He had been serving as formator at the Juba-based St. Paul’s Major Seminary.
His transfer from Torit Diocese to Juba Archdiocese on 12 December 2019 was met with resistance from a section of the Clergy and Laity of the South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See, who wrote multiple strongly-worded protest letters to the Vatican-based Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Propaganda Fide.
He received support from members of the Sudan/South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SSS-CBC), which is constituted by Prelates from the seven Catholic Dioceses in South Sudan and the two in Sudan.
On 6 March 2020, Pope Francis reconfirmed his earlier appointment of Bishop Ameyu for Juba Archdiocese, putting an end to controversies around politics of succession in South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See.
He was installed on 22 March 2020. He was among the 21 Cardinals that the late Pope Francis named after reciting the Angelus prayer on 9 July 2023 and created Cardinal during the 30 September 2023 Consistory.
Cardinal Ameyu is currently serving as SSS-CBC President.
3. Peter Ebere Cardinal Okpaleke, 62: Ekwulobia in Nigeria
The Local Ordinary of Ekwulobia Catholic Diocese in Nigeria, Peter Ebere Cardinal Okpaleke was born on 1 March 1963 in the country’s Anambra State. He was Ordained a Priest on 22 August 1992 for Nigeria’s Diocese of Awka.
In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Ahiara. His Episcopal appointment was rejected by the Clergy the Nigerian Diocese, who claimed that the Episcopal candidate comes from outside the dominant ethnic group of Ahiara Diocese, the Mbaise, and that Priests of the Diocese feel under-represented in the Catholic Church hierarchy in the West African nation.
He was impeded from setting foot in the territory covered by Ahiara Diocese; many Church activities were halted including the ordination of candidates to Diaconate. In fact, the May 2013 Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Okpaleke took place outside Ahiara Diocese, at Seat of Wisdom Seminary, Ulakwo, in Nigeria’s Owerri Catholic Archdiocese.
The rejection persisted even after the Nigerian Bishop’s Consecration. In a 14 February 2018 letter to Pope Francis, the Nigerian Catholic Bishop resigned, referring to the sustained opposition to his appointment.
On 19 February 2018, Pope Francis accepted Bishop Okpaleke’s resignation and “relieved him of the pastoral care of the Diocese of Ahiara.”
A year later, on 5 March 2020, Pope Francis announced the establishment of Ekwulobia Catholic Diocese and appointed Bishop Okpaleke the pioneer Local Ordinary. He was installed Bishop of the Diocese that was curved out from his native Diocese of Awka on 29 April 2020.
Cardinal Okpaleke was among the 21 new Cardinals that Pope Francis named on 29 May 2022, and created them Cardinals during the 27 August 2022 Consistory. He is a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
4. Jean-Paul Cardinal Vesco, 63: Alger in Algeria
Born in Lyon in France on 10 March 1962, Jean-Paul Cardinal Vesco studied and practiced law before entering the Novitiate of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1995.
He was ordained a Priest in 2001; he was in Jerusalem for studies before traveling to Algeria in 2002.
In 2010, he was elected Provincial Superior of the Dominicans in France. In December 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Bishop of Oran Catholic Diocese in Algeria, where he was Consecrated Bishop in January 2013.
He was appointed Archbishop Alger in December 2021. He was among the last Cardinals the late Pope Francis named in October 2024 and created during the December 2024 Consistory.
5. Ignace Cardinal Bessi Dogbo, 63: Abidjan in Ivory Coast
Born in May 1960 in the Catholic Diocese of Bukoba in Tanzania, Protase Cardinal Rugambwa served as Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization before he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop for Tanzania’s Tabora Archdiocese on 13 April 2023.
Cardinal Rugambwa was ordained a Priest for the Catholic Diocese of Rulenge-Ngara in September 1990. The Alumnus of the Rome-based Pontifical Lateran University where he obtained a doctorate in pastoral theology was appointed the Local Ordinary of Tanzania’s Catholic Diocese of Kigoma in 2008.
He was appointed Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) with the personal title of Archbishop in June 2012.
In 2017, Cardinal Rugambwa was appointed Secretary of Propaganda Fide, the Vatican department tasked with “the transmission and dissemination of the faith throughout the whole world” that has “the specific responsibility of coordinating and guiding all the Church’s diverse missionary efforts and initiatives”, which he served until March 2023.
During his service at the Vatican, the Tanzanian-born Cardinal pressed for support for youth facing migration challenges.
In August 2019, the Tanzanian Cardinal hailed the establishment of ACI Africa as being in line with the desires and goals of the Vatican-based congregation responsible for missionary work across the globe.
In a July 2022 report, Cardinal Rugambwa urged members of the Association of the Regional Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACERAC) at their Plenary Assembly in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, to defend the youth as they are vulnerable to migration challenges.
He was among the 21 Cardinals that the late Pope Francis named in July 2023 and created Cardinal during the 30 September 2023 Consistory.
7. Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, 65: Kinshasa, DR Congo (DRC)
Born of a rubber tapper in Boto in DRC 65 years ago, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu was ordained a Priest in the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM Cap) in August 1988.
He served as a Priest for 16 years before he was appointed Bishop of DRC’s Bokungu-Ikela Catholic Diocese, where he served for 12 years; he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Kinshasa in March 2018 and later in November, Local Ordinary of the Congolese Metropolitan See.
The Congolese Catholic Church leader who was elevated to Cardinal on 5 October 2019 has been described as “a zealous pastor and a direct, straightforward man.” Cardinal Ambongo testified at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague in 2016 on local warlord activities.
He was elected Vice-President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and later succeeded the late Richard Kuuia Cardinal Baawobr who passed on in November 2022, months after he had been elected SECAM President.
8. Antoine Cardinal Kambanda, 66: Kigali in Rwanda
Born on 10 November 1958, Antoine Cardinal Kambanda of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kigali studied in Burundi, Uganda, and Kenya ahead of his Priestly ordination in September 1990 by St. John Paul II.
He was appointed Bishop of Kibungo Diocese in 2013, where he served for five years before his transfer to Kigali Archdiocese in 2018. His episcopal motto is “Ut vitam habeant’’ (That They May Have Life).
The Catholic Church leader who was elevated to Cardinal during the 28 November 2020 Consistory is currently the Vice President of the Episcopal Conference of Rwanda (CEPR) and doubles as the Chairman of the CEPR’s Commission for Justice and Peace (CEJP).
He is also the Chairman of the Rwanda Interfaith Council on Health (RICH). He has devoted his work to growing Small Christian Communities (SCCs).
9. Stephen Cardinal Brislin, 68: Johannesburg in South Africa
Stephen Cardinal Brislin is the Local Ordinary of Johannesburg Archdiocese in South Africa following his transfer from the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town in October 2024.
Born in Welkom in September 1956, Cardinal Brislin was ordained a Priest in November 1983. In October 2006, he was appointed Bishop of Kroonstad Catholic Diocese in South Africa and Consecrated Bishop in January 2007.
Three years later, he was appointed Local Ordinary of Cape Town Archdiocese. He was among the 21 Cardinals that the late Pope Francis named after reciting the Angelus prayer on 9 July 2023 and created Cardinal during the 30 September 2023 Consistory.
Cardinal Brislin’s Coat-of-Arms expresses his motto Veritas in Caritate – truth in love, taken from Ephesians 4:15. The center is the empty cross of the resurrected Christ, from which all life comes. The rising sun is the promise of eternal life.
The brown represents the dryness of certain parts of the Free State, where the Archbishop has his roots and also represents life without Christ since fruitfulness and life come through the cross. This life is depicted by the people, the Acacia tree, the maize, the wheat, and the grapes – also representing the Western Cape and reminding us of the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Basotho hat reflects the majority of the people to whom the Cardinal ministered and also the “crown” of Kroonstad. The thistle represents the maternal roots of the South African Cardinal, namely Scotland. The shamrock represents the paternal roots of the Cardinal, namely, Ireland.
10. Désiré Cardinal Tsarahazana, 70: Toamasina in Madagascar
Désiré Cardinal Tsarahazana, Archbishop of Toamasina (Madagascar), was born in Amboangibe on 13 June 1954. He was ordained a Priest on 28 September 1986.
He served in various capacities as a Priest before his 30 October 2000 appointment as Bishop of Fenoarivo Atsinanana. He was transferred to the then Diocese of Toamasina on 24 November 2008 and elevated to Archbishop of the same See on 26 February 2010.
He has served as President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (C.E.M since 2015), and on 14 July 2018, Pope Francis appointed him President Delegate of the XV Ordinary General Assembly on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.
He was created Cardinal during the Consistory of 28 June 2018. He is a member of the Vatican Dicasteries for the Evangelization and for Culture and Education.
11. Cristóbal Cardinal López Romero, 72: Rabat in Morocco
Born in 1952 in Spain, Cristóbal Cardinal López Romero was ordained a Priest in the Congregation of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in 1979.
By virtue of his service in Morocco, and of the good relations he developed with the Christian and Muslim religious leaders present in the country, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Rabat in 2017.
He was created Cardinal in the October 2019 Consistory.
12. Arlindo Cardinal Gomes Furtado, 75: Santiago Diocese in Cape Verde
The first Cardinal from Cape Verde, Arlindo Cardinal Gomes Furtado was born in November 1949 in Santa Catarina in the Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde. He was ordained a Priest on 18 July 1976.
From 1978-1986 he served as Rector of the São José Minor Seminary, amid other stints, including teaching English at a high school in his native country.
He started his Episcopal Ministry as pioneer Bishop of the then newly established Diocese of Mindelo in February 2004. He was transferred to Santiago de Cabo Verde Diocese in July 2009.
He was elevated to Cardinal during the Consistory of 14 February 2015. Cardinal Gomes Furtado serves on the Dicasteries for Evangelization; and for Divine Worship, and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
13. Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson (Ghana), 76: Chancellor of the Roman Curia
Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson was born on 11 October 1948 in Nsuta-Wassaw in the Western region of Ghana that is served by the country’s Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast. He was ordained a Priest for the Ghanaian Metropolitan See in July 1975.
In October 1992, he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast for which he was Consecrated in March 1993.
Cardinal Turkson served as President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) from 1997-2004. He served as treasurer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) from 2007-2009 and as Vice President of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Anglophone West Africa (AECAWA). He served as President of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) from 2007-2009. He was also Chairman of the Ghana Chapter of the Conference of Religions for Peace (2003-2007) and Ghana National Peace Council (2006-2010).
He was elevated to Cardinal in October 2003.
In October 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Cardinal Turkson the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; he ceased to function as President in February 2013, and he was confirmed in March 2013.
He has been awarded numerous honorary degrees and speaks 6 languages (Fante, English, French, Italian, German, Hebrew).
In August 2016, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Turkson Prefect of the new Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, (PIHD) which the late Pontiff instituted.
In March 2018, Pope Francis appointed him member of the Pre-Sinodal Council of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region.
He resigned as Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for PIHD in January 2022. In April 2022, the late Pope Francis appointed him Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He is the Chancellor of the Roman Curia.
14. Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel, 76: Addis Ababa in Ethiopia
Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, was born in Cheleleqa, Ethiopia on 14 July 1948.
He was ordained a Priest in the Congregation of the Mission (CM) on 4 July 1976. He was imprisoned by the Communists from 1979 to 1980.
On 25 January 1998, he was ordained Bishop to serve as Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Ababa Archdiocese. He was appointed Archbishop of Addis Ababa in July 1999.
Cardinal Souraphiel has served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE). He has also served as president of the Council of the Ethiopian Church since 1998.
In 2014 he was elected chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA).
The member of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches was created Cardinal during the Consistory of 14 February 2015.
15. John Cardinal Njue, 79: Emeritus of Nairobi in Kenya
Born in January 1946 in Embu Catholic Diocese in Kenya, John Cardinal Njue is the second Cardinal in the history of Kenya after the Servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga.
He started his Episcopal Ministry in his native Diocese of Embu in September 1986. In March 2002, he was transferred to Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri as Coadjutor Archbishop.
He was appointed Archbishop of Nairobi in October 2007, succeeding the Late Archbishop Ndingi Mawana a’Nzeki who retired the same year. He was named Cardinal the following month and created Cardinal in February 2008
He had served as the Chairman of the Seminary Episcopal Commission for Major Seminaries in Kenya from 1987 to 1991.
He had become Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) from 1997 to 2003 and had also served as the Chairman for KCCB’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, and Chairman of Development and Social Services, a department of the then Kenya Catholic Secretariat (KCS).
Prior to being elevated to Cardinal, he had also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Vicariate of Isiolo (2005 – 2006) following the death of Bishop Luigi Locati.
16. Philippe Cardinal Ouédraogo, 79: Emeritus of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Philippe Cardinal Ouedraogo Nakellentuba, Archbishop emeritus of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, was born on 25 January 1945 in the Diocese of Kaya.
He was ordained a Priest on 14 July 1973 for Kaya Diocese. He started his Episcopal Ministry in November 1996 as Bishop of Burkina Faso’s Ouahigouya Catholic Diocese. He was transferred to Ouagadougou Archdiocese in 2009.
He served the Catholic Church in various capacities, including as a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
He was elevated to Cardinal during the Consistory of 22 February 2014.
He was elected President of SECAM during 19-29 July 2019 Plenary Assembly that was held in Kampala under the theme, “That they may know Christ and have life in abundance.”
Ministering in a country that faces serious security challenges especially from Islamists militants who often target places of worship, Cardinal Ouedraogo was vocal in condemning acts of violence against the suffering population. He proposed interreligious dialogue as a vital solution to terrorism in the Sahel region.
He is a member of Vatican Dicasteries for the Evangelization; for Divine Worship, and the Discipline of the Sacraments.; and for interreligious dialogue.
17. Jean-Pierre Cardinal Kutwa, 79: Emeritus of Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Jean-Pierre Cardinal Kutwa was born on 22 December 1945 at Blockhauss in the Archdiocese of Abidjan. He was ordained a Priest for the Archdiocese of Abidjan on 11 July 1971.
While serving as Parish Priest of Notre Dame du Perpétual Secours in Treichville, Ivory Coast, then Fr. Jean-Pierre Kutwa was involved in a terrible accident, and many thought that he was going to die.
He served in and outside his native country before 2 June 2001, when he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Gagnoa in Ivory Coast, and Consecrated the same year, on September 16.
In October 2005, he participated as a delegate of the Bishops of Ivory Coast in the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.
On 2 May 2006, he was transferred to Abidjan Archdiocese, where he served until his retirement in May 2024.
In the Episcopal Conference of Ivory Coast (CECCI), he served as head of the Commission for the Lay Apostolate, and as deputy grand chancellor of the Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO).
He also served as Vice President of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA).
He was created Cardinal during the Consistory of 22 February 2014.
Today, he serves on the Dicasteries for the Evangelization; for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In December 2024, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Man.
18. Robert Cardinal Sarah (Guinea), 79: Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Born on 15 June 1945 in Guinea Conakry, Robert Cardinal Sarah was ordained a Priest in 1969 for the Catholic Archdiocese of Conakry, after periods of study in Ivory Coast, Guinea, France, Senegal, Rome, and Jerusalem.
Cardinal Sarah was appointed Archbishop of Conakry in 1979, at the age of 34; he was at the helm of the Guinean Metropolitan See until October 2001, when he was appointed Secretary of the then Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, now Dicastery for Evangelization.
Cardinal Sarah has been praised for his resistance to Sékou Touré’s Marxist dictatorship, and for maintaining the unity of the Church as an independent institution as Catholic Clergy and Laity were persecuted.
He was appointed President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in October 2010, and the following month elevated to Cardinal.
Cardinal Sarah was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in November 2014. He retired in February 2021.
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