The Cardinals of Ghana are shown here.
Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr, Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, and the late Peter Dery
In the Catholic Church, a Cardinal is a senior member of the clergy who follows the Pope in the order of precedence. The College of Cardinals is made up of them all, and they are all appointed for life.
When the Holy See becomes vacant, their most solemn duty is to elect a new Pope in a conclave, almost always from among themselves.
The College of Cardinals is in charge of the Holy See's day-to-day administration between a Pope's death or resignation and the election of his successor.
Cardinals who have not reached the age of 80 by the day the vacancy occurs are eligible to participate in a conclave. Cardinals also participate collectively in papal consistories, where important Church matters are discussed and new Cardinals may be created.
Cardinals of working age are also appointed to oversee dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the Catholic Church's central administration.
The majority of Cardinals are Bishops and Archbishops who oversee dioceses and archdioceses all over the world, often the most important diocese or archdiocese in their country. Elevation to the College of Cardinals is not based on any specific criteria. Since 1917, a potential cardinal has had to be at least a priest, but laymen have previously served as Cardinals. The Pope makes the final decision, and tradition is his only guide.
But, so far, how many Cardinals have come from Ghana?
Ghana now has three Cardinals, one of whom is deceased, following the recent elevation of Most Rev. Richard Kuuia Baawobr.
Turkson, Peter Appiah
Peter Kodwo is a Nigerian businessman. Appiah Turkson is the Catholic Church's first Ghana
From October 24, 2009, to January 1, 2017, he served as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He served as the prefect of the newly created Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development from 2017 to 2021, which consolidated several areas under one administration, including the environment, ecology, ethics, human dignity, poverty, and economics.
Pope Francis appointed him chancellor of the Pontifical Academies for Sciences and Social Sciences in 2022.
From 1992 to 2009, Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson served as Archbishop of Cape Coast.
He served as President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference from 1997 to 2005, and as Chancellor of the Catholic University College of Ghana beginning in 2003.
He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2003.
Turkson is the first Ghanaian cardinal and was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the papal conclave of 2005 that elected Pope Benedict XVI and the papal conclave of 2013 that elected Pope Francis.
Peter Dery
After Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, Peter Porekuu Dery became the second Catholic Archbishop to be named a Cardinal.
On May 10, 1918, he was born, and on March 6, 2008, he died. From 1934 to 1939, he studied for the priesthood in Navrongo before beginning his philosophical and theological studies at Saint Victor's School in Wiagha.
Bishop Gérard Bertrand ordained him to the priesthood in Nandom at Saint Theresa's Church in 1951 before continuing his studies.
In 1958, Cardinal Dery received a bachelor's degree in social studies from Saint Francis Xavier College in Antigonish, Canada, and a doctorate from the International Catechetical Institute "Lumen vitae" in Brussels, Belgium. After receiving a scholarship from the Knights of Columbus in 1957, the former allowed him to enroll.
In 1959, he returned to his homeland, serving as a parochial vicar in Nandom before becoming the archdiocese of Tamale's vicar-general until 1960.
From 1974 to 1994, Cardinal Dery was Archbishop of Tamale, and in 2006, he was elevated to the cardinalate.
He also served as the Bishop of Wa prior to his elevation as Archbishop.
On March 6, 2008, Cardinal Dery passed away.
The canonization process began in mid-2013, and the late cardinal is now known as a Servant of God.
Baawobr Richard Kuuia Kuuia Kuuia Kuuia Kuuia Kuu
After Peter Appiah Turkson and the late Peter Dery, the Most Rev. Richard Kuuia Baawobr is the third Cardinal to be named.
Bishop Baawobr was born on June 21, 1959, in Tom-Zendagangn, Ko, Ghana's Wa Diocese's Nandon District. From 1965 to 1972, he received his primary education at Tom-Zendagangn, and from 1971 to 1977, he attended the St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Wa.
Nandom Secondary School was where he completed his secondary education.
As a Diocesan Seminarian, he entered St. Victor's Major Seminary in Tamale in 1979.
After completing his Philosophical Studies, he felt God's call to be a missionary and joined the Society of Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr.) in 1981.
Since 1987, Bishop Baawobr has been a priest.
He spent four years in the Democratic Republic of Congo before being transferred to Tanzania to work in the House of Formation.
Most Rev. Baawobr went on to become the first Assistant-General to the Superior-General of the Missionaries of Africa in Rome, a position he held for six years before being elected Superior-General, a position he held for another six years.
After his term as Superior-General came to an end, Pope Francis named Most Rev. Baawobr Bishop of Wa.
For the previous six years, he had been the Bishop of Wa.
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