18 Africans Among Cardinals Set To Elect New Pope

Nigeria’s Peter Cardinal Okpaleke and 17 other African cardinals are among the 135 eligible to vote for the next Pope.

Out of the 252 cardinals worldwide, only 135 have voting rights for the papal conclave.

By region, Europe leads with 53 cardinal electors, followed by Asia (23), Africa (18), South America (17), North America (16), and Central America and Oceania with four each—the lowest.

African cardinal electors include John Njue (Kenya), Dieudonne Nzapalainga (Central African Republic), Peter Okpaleke (Nigeria), Nakellentuba Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Protase Rugambwa (Tanzania), Robert Sarah (Guinea), and Berhaneyesus Souraphiel (Ethiopia).

Others are Desire Tsarahazana (Madagascar), Peter Turkson (Ghana), Jean-Paul Vesco (Algeria), Cristobal Romero (Morocco), Stephen Mulla (South Sudan), Fridolin Besungu (DR Congo), Ignace Dogbo (Ivory Coast), Stephen Brislin (South Africa), Arlindo Furtado (Cape Verde), Antoine Kambanda (Rwanda), and Jean-Pierre Kutwa (Ivory Coast).

Of the 135 electors, 108 were appointed by Pope Francis, 22 by Pope Benedict, and five by Pope John Paul II.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, at 7:35 a.m. (local time) due to a cerebral stroke that resulted in a coma and irreversible heart failure.

The Vatican confirmed his death was officially recorded through electrocardiographic thanatography.