Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Wa (Ghana), the one cardinal-elect who wasn’t there, was mentioned by Pope Francis as he concluded his speech during the consistory on August 27. Francis requested prayers for the African bishop and said that Baawobr was unwell.
Cardinal Baawobr was reportedly sick and unable to attend the event, according to the Holy Father.
“I do not want to end without recalling Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, Bishop of Wa, who yesterday, upon his arrival in Rome, felt bad and was hospitalized with a heart problem and I think they did some type of operation,” said Pope Francis after his homily for the day’s festivities.
“Let us pray for this brother who ought to have been here and is hospitalized,” said the Holy Father. “Thank you.”
The 63-year-old Baawobr was elected President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) on July 30. According to CNA’s sister agency ACI Africa, he is well known in Ghana for “many acts of charity, key among them, his love for people suffering from mental challenges and who have been neglected by their families.”
Additionally, from July 2020, Baawobr has held a position on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
He is one of two freshly appointed African cardinals; the other being Cardinal Peter Okpaleke of the Ekwulobia Diocese of Nigeria. Peter Turkson, a different Ghanaian cardinal, is the current chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences.
The hospitalization demonstrates how easily the conclave’s attendance may fluctuate. With the addition of the cardinal, today’s consistory results in 17 overall cardinal electors from Africa, or 12.8% of all cardinal electors. According to data from the Vatican’s Annuario Pontificio and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae, Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the Catholicism’s fastest-growing areas worldwide.
Baawobr reflected on his role as cardinal in an interview with ACI Africa on July 28 and said, “It is a chance to reconfirm our resolve to serve and to serve in conjunction with the Holy Father.”
“It is clear that we are not doing this endeavor alone. He said, “I believe from there also I get the message that wherever we are, if people are wanting our participation in order to achieve a certain objective, we should provide it with pleasure, humility, and simplicity. And the Holy Father is calling us to share, to cooperate with him.