18 Africans among cardinals to elect new Pope

Nigeria’s Peter Cardinal Okpaleke and 17 other cardinals from Africa are among the 135 cardinals eligible to elect the next Pope.

There are 252 cardinals, but only 135 cardinals have voting status and are eligible to vote for the next Pope when the conclave begins.

Europe has 53 cardinals of voting status, followed by Asia (23), Africa (18), South America (17), and North America (16). Central America and Oceania have four each and it is the lowest number of electors at the forthcoming conclave.

The Cardinal electors of African origin are John Njue (Kenya), Dieudonne Nzapalainga (Central African Republic), Peter Okpaleke (Nigeria), Nakellentuba Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Protase Rugambwa (Tanzania), Robert Sarah (Guinea), 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).

Meanwhile, 108 of the electors were appointed by Pope Francis, 22 by his predecessor, Pope Benedict and five by Pope John Paul II.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday of a cerebral stroke, which led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.

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His death was officially recorded at 7:35 am (local time) on April 21 through electrocardiographic thanatography, according to the Vatican.

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