Pope Francis' death at age 88 on Easter Monday prompted the respect of Fulsam from African leaders who have been in his 12th year at the helm of the global Catholic Church.
Nigerian President Bora Tinubu called Pope Francis “the tireless champion of the poor,” and his South African president Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized his “inclusion (and) worldview of equality.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fatta El-Sisi expressed his sadness to the Vatican, saying that the late Pope “leaved an extraordinary legacy of compassion and humanity that remains eternally engraved in the conscience of mankind.” Mohammed VI of Morocco paid tribute to Pope Francis' “devotion to advocacy and poverty and human dignity.”
From Rome to Rio de Janeiro, the Pope's losses are keen in African countries, home to Catholics around the world, especially the estimated 272 million Catholics.
According to the Vatican, in the past year alone, 7 million Africans have converted to Catholicism, making homes on the continent one of the fastest growing Catholic populations in the world.
Nigeria and Kenya have one of the highest Catholic Church attendance rates each week in the world, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Uganda and Angola also have strong Catholic communities.
Francis' 12-year inauguration was marked by highs and lows, as he continued to pursue social justice, modernize his Catholic mission and struggled with fallouts and struggles that sparked the scandal. Those considered pioneering elections as bishops of Rome in 2013 became the first Latin American pope since Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first from outside Europe.
Strengthen Africa within the church
The continent has been, for many years, an important fortress of faith for the Catholic Church, and the importance of its momentum was recognized by Pope Francis, who greatly increased the representation of Africa within Cardinals University, in the Cardinal Colled, in a gesture of trust in the potential for leadership of the continent. He traveled five times to the African continent during his Pope, visiting ten African countries in total. His journey was defined by messages of peace, social and environmental justice, and inter-fictional dialogue.
Pope Francis' first visit to the continent came in November 2015 when he visited Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic. He celebrated the Mass at the University of Nairobi. He honored Ugandan martyrs at Nangongo Shrine, and in historic moves he visited the Central African Republic despite civil unrest, declaring himself a “pilgrim of peace,” sharing hopes for unity and the end of conflict.
Pope Francis' first visit to North Africa and a Muslim majority came in 2017 when he visited Egypt with the aim of strengthening interfaith relations. He visited Al Azhar University and met with Grand Imam Ahmed El Teyeb and expressed solidarity with Egyptian Coptic Christians after attacks on their communities earlier that year.
In 2019, Pope Francis accepted an invitation from King Mohammed VI and visited Morocco, where he promoted a message of religious tolerance and immigration rights. In Rabat's Hassan Tower speech, he sought for intercultural unity, saying, “The courage to meet one another and reach for friendship is the path of peace and harmony for mankind, whereas extremism and hatred are the path of division and destruction.”
Later in the same year, the Pope visited Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius, advocating for peace and reconciliation following the years of conflicts faced by Mozambique.
He also sought the protection of the island nation's natural resources and biodiversity. He said, “Madagascar declared that he was famous for its natural beauty, and cited the same name of the Pope of St. Francis of Assisi. For this reason, he says that Laudatusi (taken from a creature taken from the canticle of St. Francis).
Peace Maker
Pope Francis' last visit to the continent was also one of the most important politically. In 2023 he visited South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a dedicated peace mission, including the then-Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wellby. Four years ago, one of his Pope's most iconic moments, Pope Francis kneeled on the floor of the Vatican and kissed the feet of his rival leader in South Sudan. In Juba, he made an ecumenical pilgrimage to promote peace in the region.
The Pope's visit to the continent represented his deep commitment to addressing current global issues through compassion and dialogue. One of his most impactful and famous speeches given at Kinshasa in 2023 was, “Hand the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Let's miss Africa's hand! Stop suffocating Africa.
Pope Francis' relationship with Africa was based on mutual respect. He saw African Catholics view themselves as future co-creators of the Church, not as recipients of charity.
Eyes on successors
As the world mourns, attention is now being focused on the Pope's successor. It has been over a 500 year since the Catholic Church was led by the Pope of the African continent. In Pope history, three of the 266 Popes came from Africa. Pope Victor I (estimated tenure date around 199), Pope Miltiades (311-314 A.D.), and Pope Gerasius I (492-496 AD) came from Proconsularis, Africa, a historic Roman province that now encompasses most of modern Tunisia.
There are 18 cardinals from the African continent eligible to be elected Pope in the upcoming Conclave. They include Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, a key adviser to Pope Francis, Governor of the Congregation for God's Service, and Cardinal Robert Sara of Guinea, who served as the discipline of the sacrament from 2014 to 2021, and Cardinal Dudonée Nuzapalainga from Lipolik, Central Africa, 57 years old.
Talking to the BBC this week, Father Stanturillo, president of the Pan-African Catholic Theological Network, said, “The African pope is not “if” but “the “”the African Catholic Church is now a theological, spiritual and demographic power.” Conversely, the Archbishop of Abuja Ignatius Kaigama said, “We are not praying for the Pope of Africa… We are praying for the good and the holy Pope.”
When the black smoke famously turns white, it is clear that whatever lies beyond the Catholic Church, Africa is no longer in its surroundings.
