Africans root for first Black pope in modern history

Africans are hoping one of their own could become the first Black pope in modern history and build on Francis's legacy of championing the developing world, though the chances of that happening appear slim.

A continent where religion permeates most aspects of private and public life, Africa is where the Roman Catholic Church is growing fastest, according to Vatican figures published last month. 

African Catholics attending services honouring Francis after his death on Monday said a Black pope was long overdue.

"To have a Black pope would revive the Christian faith in Africa and change people's views of Africa, by showing that an African can hold this office," said Charles Yapi, a Catholic priest in Ivory Coast's commercial capital, Abidjan.

Scholars researching the early Church have cited evidence that some first-millennium popes were born in North Africa or were of African descent, though details are scant. One or more may have been Black.

Some African contenders' names have been circulating, but Vatican insiders are sceptical that any of them have a realistic chance of becoming pope, partly because none have been subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as most Western cardinals.

That is a potential concern for an institution that has been shaken by devastating scandals in recent decades. In any case, forecasting who will become pope is notoriously tricky.

Among African clerics tipped as potential popes are Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, 76, Democratic Republic of Congo's Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, 65, the archbishop of Kinshasa, and Ivory Coast's Cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo, 63.

Africa boasted about 20% of the world's Catholics in 2023 and added 9 million worshippers the previous year.

Choosing Turkson as pope would be a fitting recognition of that growth and also inspire African prelates, said Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie in Accra, who has known Turkson since the 1970s and was ordained by him as a bishop.

"Although it's something I cannot bet on, as the cardinals who will make the selection will be led by the Holy Spirit, it will be good to have him as the next pope, as this will motivate all bishops on the continent," Kwofie told Reuters.

However, some clerics said that a pope's values mattered more than his home country or race.

"We pray that the Holy Spirit will give the Church a good pastor, one who will guide the Church towards the true God," said Congolese priest Josue-Misael Mobatila Kwilu after attending a service for Francis in Kinshasa.

"Having a pope from Africa or another continent is not up to us."

The elevation of an African cardinal to the papal throne would be widely interpreted as a continuation of Francis's track record of standing up for the poor and oppressed, migrants and civilians fleeing war.

Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi recalled Francis's words during a 2023 visit to Congo: "Take your hands off the Democratic Republic of Congo. Take your hands off Africa! Stop suffocating Africa: it is not a mine to be exploited nor a land to be plundered."

These words were "forever engraved in the collective memory of the Congolese people", Tshisekedi said on Monday.

However, an African pope would not necessarily embrace Francis's more socially progressive positions, such as approving the blessing of same-sex couples on a case-by-case basis, which has irked Africa's overwhelmingly conservative faithful.

An African pope would be clear that same-sex relationships are "not part of our culture" and "would not allow himself to be influenced to accept it", said Yapi, the Ivorian priest.

The issue could cut both ways, as many of the cardinals who will elect the next pope in a conclave may be wary of picking someone whose views deviate sharply from those of Francis.

Turkson, who has been discussed as a possible pope for over a decade, rose from humble beginnings as the fourth of 10 children in a mining town. He combines a long pastoral background in Ghana with hands-on experience leading several Vatican offices, including the Church body that promotes social justice, human rights and world peace. He also shares Francis's interest in issues like climate change and inequality.

In a 2013 interview with CNN, Turkson linked clerical abuse to homosexuality, saying the Church in Africa was unlikely to be hit by the scandals seen elsewhere - a view that drew widespread criticism.

More recently, he has softened his tone, telling the BBC in 2023 that it was "time to begin education" on homosexuality and suggesting it was "not completely alien to Ghanaian society".

Congo's Ambongo, a prominent voice for peace in a nation ravaged by wars and insurgencies, was made a cardinal by Francis in 2019. The pope appointed him in 2020 to the Council of Cardinals, a cabinet of papal advisers Francis convened on a regular basis.

However, Ambongo opposed Francis's 2023 approval of blessings for gay couples, saying doing so would expose the Church to scandals.

Ivory Coast's Dogbo, the archbishop of Abidjan, was made a cardinal in December 2024, and his visibility has increased as a result.

"Having cardinals from every part of the world truly translates the universality of the Church," he told Reuters at the time.