Africans are optimistic that the next pope might be one of them, becoming the first Black pope in recent history. The Roman Catholic Church is expanding at a rapid pace in Africa, with the continent currently boasting 20% of the world’s Catholics, as recent Vatican figures indicate. Although many believe this is the right time for an African pope, the likelihood is still low, although African cardinals are being talked about as possible candidates.
As African Catholics come together to celebrate the death of Pope Francis, many wanted a Black pope, hoping it would give new life to the Christian faith in Africa. Priest Charles Yapi of Ivory Coast stressed that it would shift world attitudes regarding Africa’s contribution to the Church.
In the past, some of the earliest popes were thought to be African in origin, but documentation is thin. In recent times, various African cardinals have been floated as possible papal contenders, including Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson, Congo’s Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, and Ivory Coast’s Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo. Regardless of their merits, Vatican insiders doubt they stand a chance given the severe spotlight that they have yet to receive in comparison with Western cardinals.
An African pope would continue Pope Francis’s tradition of standing up for the poor, the downtrodden, and migrants. Still, based on Africa’s slightly more conservative approach to social issues such as same-sex marriage, any African papal contender would then have more conservative views than Francis. Cardinal Turkson, for instance, has held views close to more conservative approaches, although he has changed position on some matters, such as homosexuality, in recent years.
While others opine that values count more for a pope than for his race, most others find that an African pope would set the continent aflame and consolidate the universality of the Church.
