Ivorian cardinal Ignace Bessi Dogbo (L) arrives for a congregation meeting at The Vatican, on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP) The Sacred College of Cardinals will assemble in Vatican City from tomorrow (May 7) to elect the successor to Pope Francis, who died on April 21 2025, and the leaders of the 1.4 billion Catholics. In the tradition of the Catholic Church, this position attracts no open campaigns, so no candidates are expected to present or publish their names beforehand. Not only do the cardinals (electors) take an oath of secrecy, but The Vatican drivers, health care…
Author: By George Sunguh
Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the popemobile after the Easter mass, at St Peter’s square in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP) On September 1, 2021, I was nominated to be part of Africa’s delegation to Rome under the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). I was excited. Due to the stringent Covid-19 protocols, Pope Francis had invited only 10 people each from Africa, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. On D-day, we woke up fairly early in Rome, had our breakfast, and took a…
Pope Francis blesses children when he visited St Joseph the Worker Catholic church, in Kagemi, Nairobi, in November 2015. [File, Standard] Pope Francis, elected to lead the 1.2 billion Catholics on March 12 2013, will be remembered as perhaps the Pope who helped transform the Catholic Church most. On 9th and 10th October 2021, Pope Francis, the first Pope from outside Europe, launched a referendum of sorts in the Vatican to help transform the Catholic Church through a new journey of faith known as the Synod on Synodality. For the first time, a sitting Pope sought the input of all…