CV NEWS FEED // As Catholicism continues to thrive across Africa, The New York Times is spotlighting the continent’s growing role in shaping the global Church and raising the question: Could the next pope come from Africa?

More than half of the 13 million people who joined the Church in 2022 lived in Africa, according to the Times. Today, one in five Catholics is African, and Africa produces more seminarians than any other region of the world.

The Times noted that African Catholicism is not only expanding demographically, but also influencing ecclesial politics and culture at the highest levels. 

The late Pope Francis made Africa a visible pastoral priority during his pontificate. His 2019 Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica included Congolese traditions, and he traveled to 10 African countries. His symbolic gestures, like kissing the feet of South Sudan’s feuding leaders and visiting African migrants in Italy, reflected his personal concern for the continent.

“Being from Latin America, he felt for our predicaments as a third-world continent struggling in a world controlled from far away,” Nigerian Cardinal John Onaiyekan told the Times. But as the Church mourns the late pope, African leaders and laity are already contemplating the next chapter.

Among the possible papal successors are several of the 18 African cardinal electors. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa stands out for his leadership on African Church concerns, including opposition to the Vatican’s controversial blessing of same-sex couples. 

That resistance led the Vatican to effectively allow African bishops to reject the policy, highlighting their growing sway, according to the Times.

Also in the mix are Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, known for his work on climate and social justice, and Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, a vocal critic of Pope Francis and a staunch theological conservative.

African Catholics had a complex relationship with Pope Francis. Despite differing views on moral issues, many African Catholics saw him as a shepherd who understood their challenges and sought to integrate their voices into the life of the Church, according to the Times.

“Our country was at war but he still came here to share our suffering,” Eugenie Ndumba, a parish lecturer in Congo, told the Times. “He knew where his children were, and he made sure he went toward them.”

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