Fr. Emmanuel Ojeifo of the Archdiocese of Nigeria told Newsmax on Friday that there's a growing movement in the Vatican to elect an African pontiff following the death of Pope Francis.
"I am not the only one who thinks that the time has come for an African to be pope," Ojeifo said on Newsmax's "National Report" in an interview from Vatican City. "Many people across Africa think that it's time to have an African Pope. Maybe it's already even too late in terms of we should have had an African Pope before now."
The Catholic Church has had three popes of African descent in its history: the 14th, Saint Victor, 32nd, Saint Melchiades, and 49th, Saint Gelasius, all of whom served as pontiff between the years 189 A.D. and 496 A.D., meaning that if an African candidate is elected, they would be the first African pope in more than 1,500 years.
Ojeifo added, "I clearly understand the sentiment shared by many people across Africa because Catholicism is growing tremendously in Africa, [more] than in any other continent of the world. And many Africans think that, 'Well, why not have an African who who is pope?'...I mean, in order to give that sense of inclusion, but also a sense that the growth and the development of the faith in Africa is increasingly recognized by the church at the universal level."
He noted that there are "really strong African candidates" among the Cardinals under consideration, including Cardinal Robert Sarah from Guinea, Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana, and Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ojeifo said, "these are Africans that many people think can be pope. One of them can be pope and there's nothing wrong with having a pope from Africa at this time."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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