The leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has called on all Catholics to pray for Ghanaian Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, who has been hospitalized in Rome with heart complications.
According to Vatican News Africa report, Cardinal Baawobr, the Bishop of Wa, got sick after he arrived in Rome, where he was to be enlisted into the Consistory of the Catholic Church on August 27, 2022, by the Pope after being appointed a Bishop of the church.
The report indicated that the Bishop of Wa is suffering from a heart-related condition that may require surgery.
“…Richard Cardinal Kuuia Baawobr, who since his arrival in Rome fell ill and has been hospitalized with problems of the heart, it seems he may need to have surgery. Let’s remember him as well,” Pope Francis is quoted to have said.
It added that in spite of Cardinal Baawobr’s absence he will still be enlisted into the Consistory and will be recognised as a Cardinal by the Church.
In late May 2022, the Most Reverend Richard Kuuia Baawobr was appointed a Cardinal by the leader of the church, Pope Francis.
Bishop Baawobr was among 21 bishops who would be enlisted into the Consistory of the Church come August 27, 2022, by the Pope.
Months after his elevation to the position of a Cardinal by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishop of Wa, was elected head of the Roman Catholic Church in Africa.
His election came at the end of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, SECAM, which took place in Accra.
By his election, the cardinal-designate is now the highest-ranking member of the Roman Catholic faith on the continent. It is the first time in SECAM’s history that a Ghanaian has been elected leader.
He takes over leadership of the association of Catholic Bishops of Africa, Madagascar, and the Islands, from His Eminence Philippe Cardinal Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso.
The new head will be assisted by His Eminence Fridolin Besungu Ambongo of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Most Rev. Lucio Andrice Muandula of the Diocese of Xai Xai, in Mozambique, as First and Second Vice Presidents, respectively.
Known in Ghana and across Africa for his charity works, Bishop Baawobr is a member of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa who has distinguished himself as having immense love for persons suffering from mental health challenges and individuals abandoned by their families.
— GhanaWeb
