New Leader of Catholic Church in Africa Emerges

August 1, 2022262 views0

New Leader of Catholic Church in Africa Emerges

2022-08-01T15:24:06+01:00

By Church News

His Eminence Richard Kuuia Baawobr of Ghana has emerged as the leader of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).Cardinal Baawobr succeeded His Eminence Philippe Cardinal Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso as the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa.The clergyman was elected during the 19th Plenary Assembly of SECAM, the association of Catholic Bishops of Africa, Madagascar, and the Islands, in Accra, Ghana.Also, Cardinal Fridolin Besungu Ambongo of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was elected First Vice-President; while Most Rev. Lucio Andrice Muandula of the Diocese of Xai Xai, in Mozambique, was elected Second Vice President.Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, President, Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Communications said, “it is the first that a Ghanaian has been elected SECAM President.”Established in 1969 in Kampala, Uganda, during the visit of St. Pope Paul VI, the body was formed to present African Catholic Bishops’ positions on matters about the Church in Africa.It is headquartered in Accra and consists of eight regional associations including Central Africa (ACEAC), Central African Region (ACERAC), and Egypt (AHCE).Others are Eastern Africa (AMECEA), the Indian Ocean (CEDOI), North Africa (CERNA), Southern Africa (IMBISA), and West Africa (RECOWA/CERAO).The new leader of SECAM served as the first Assistant General of the Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) for six years, after which, in May 2010, he was elected the first African Superior General of the Catholic Congregation that was founded in 1868.He is known in Ghana and beyond for many acts of charity, key among them, his love for people suffering from mental challenges and who have been neglected by their families.Bishop Baawobr and 20 other priests were nominated as Cardinal by Pope Francis on May 28, 2022, and will be inducted at a consistory on August 27.The new SECAM leader will become the third Ghanaian Cardinal after the late Cardinal Peter Dery and His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson. ALSO READ SECAM Plenary Gets Underway In Ghana