How many nigerian cardinals

For some weeks now, there has been the mention of a possible choice of a new pope from Asian cardinals of Chinese or Indian origins to succeed Pope John Paul II. An interesting scenario, however, is also a strong feeling in Catholic circles that it is time for a cardinal to be chosen from the ranks of mainstream Third World cardinals, including African cardinals. Toward that end, cardinals from Sub-Saharan Africa are being strongly suggested.

Of the African cardinals, the two that are being frequently mentioned to be of papal quality are from the West African nation of Nigeria: Francis Cardinal Arinze, aged 72 years, and Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie, Archbishop of Lagos, Nigeria, who is 68 years old.

It is barely two years ago on October 21, that Cardinal Okogie was elevated to the status or rank of a cardinal; also, he currently heads the important Catholic archdiocese of Lagos the former Nigerian capital.

Therefore, the African cardinal that many Catholics and Vatican watchers see as a likely and serious papal candidate is Cardinal Arinze, who came to the Vatican from the powerful position of the Archbishop of Onitsha, in the eastern part of Nigeria.

Who is Francis Cardinal Arinze? He was transferred to Lagos as Auxiliary Bishop, then in was nominated archbishop. In August , he was ordained titular bishop of Mascula and auxiliary of Oyo. In he volunteered to die in place of a Muslim woman sentenced to be stoned to death for the crime of adultery.

Sarr, who became the first African bishop of Kaolack, Dakar, on 1 July and is currently Archbishop of Dakar, is not considered one of the main contenders to succeed the pope. He is a member of the congregations for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Naguib, patriarch emeritus of Alexandria of the Copts, was elected bishop of Minya in and has applied his commitment to the ideals of religious renewal by introducing many reforms and new schools for religious education.

Baselios Isaac Cleemis Thottunkal. He has also spoken of the influence of Mother Teresa and the importance of practical action. Mother Teresa witnessed Jesus everywhere. If successful, he would be the first Asian pope. Tagle, however, has been outspoken at times.

The archbishop of Colombo was nominated secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacrament in The Vatican Insider reported that in response to the increase in Evangelical groups arriving on the island, the cardinal proposed a common front between Catholics and Buddhists.

Alencherry, who has a doctorate in biblical theology from the Sorbonne, is major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamalhy for Syro-Malabars, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Roman Catholic church. His first days as cardinal were overshadowed by the fatal shooting of two Keralan fishermen by Italian marines aboard an Italian cargo ship, who had apparently mistaken the men for pirates.

Gracias, who is also a member of the congregations for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, and for Catholic Education, was appointed archbishop of Bombay Mumbai in In November last year, he called on a man to apologise to Catholics in Mumbai for allegedly causing offence after pointing out that a statue of Christ was not weeping but merely leaking water because of bad plumbing. He was responsible for Arabic transmissions of Vatican Radio from to In he was appointed president of the Lebanese Episcopal Commission for the Media.

Became vicar general of the Diocese of Hong Kong in and went on to become bishop in The same thing is happening across Europe. I can see and feel churches getting emptier. It is vital therefore for us to pray and especially to stay united in Christ and close the Pope! Pell is viewed as progressive on many social issues but is also a conservative on matters of faith and morals. He has also caused controversy when in he stated that priests who hear confessions from people who commit child sex abuse must remain bound by the seal of confession.

The multilingual cardinal holds a doctorate in theology and a diploma in clinical psychology and psychotherapy. The cardinal has taught chemistry, physics and music and was professor of moral theology and ecclesiology at the Salesian Theological Institute. He became archbishop of Tegucigalpa in January Woekli has been criticised for his previous strong pronouncements against homosexuality - especially as archbishop of a city with a large and proud LGBT population - but has signalled a willingness to engage with the community.

The young, conservative cardinal has been a prominent figure in efforts to deal with the scandal of the involvement of Catholic priests and bishops in the sexual abuse of minors in Germany. The archbishop of Utrecht, who studied medicine and has doctorates in medical bioethics research and philosophy, served on the executive board of the association for pro-life doctors in The Netherlands.

He was appointed bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden in and became archbishop of Utrecht eight years later. The president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity was rector of the theology faculty at the University of Lucerne before becoming bishop of Basel in One of the younger cardinal electors, Barbarin has been a parish priest of Bry-sur-Marne on the outskirts of Paris and a theology lecturer at the Major Seminary of Fianarantsoa in Madagascar.

He was nominated bishop of Moulins in , and made archbishop of Lyon in The cardinal, who is the archbishop of Zagreb, served as chancellor and as vicar general of the Curia of Krk. He was made president of the Committee for Catholic Education in where his activities included adapting the Polish catechesis to the post-Vatican II catechetical documents of the Church.

He was named archbishop of Warsaw in to replace a prelate who resigned in disgrace after admitting he had spied for the communist police. In the book Priests and the Security Service, Nycz is depicted as a totally incorruptible cleric and a headache for the secret police who had spent years fruitlessly trying to recruit him or find something with which he could be blackmailed. The prefect of the congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples - who has a diploma in public opinion sciences and techniques, specialising in journalism - spent many years as a Vatican diplomat, with postings in Sri Lanka, Iran, Brazil and Hong Kong.

He was appointed the apostolic nuncio in Iraq and in Jordan in , and decided to stay in the former country during the war that followed the US invasion. The archbishop of Florence has a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and a doctorate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute.

He has also served as the director of the National Catechetical Office and collaborated on the Italian translation of the Catechism of the Catholic church. The conservative archbishop emeritus of Toledo was appointed prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments by Benedict XVI in , giving him oversight of liturgy.

He was created a cardinal by Benedict on 24 March When war broke out in Bosnia in , he helped thousands of refugees and exiles; during one of his pastoral trips to his parishes, he was imprisoned for 12 hours by the Serbian military in Ilida, near Sarajevo. The archbishop of Vienna is considered one of the forerunners for the papacy. In addition to being a polyglot as well as German he speaks French, Italian, English, Spanish and Latin fluently his education in theology, philosophy and psychology may stand him in good stead for success.

He has been much more sympathetic than the norm to divorced and remarried Catholics who wish to take communion. The cardinal was appointed titular bishop of Pulcheriopolis and auxiliary of Grenoble in and became archbishop of Bordeaux in He has spoken out against euthanasia and marriage licenses for homosexual couples. In order to structure his own personality, he needs the model of a father and a mother.

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza was named secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy and was elevated to the dignity of archbishop in May Three years later he was appointed prefect of the congregation for the Clergy. He was appointed bishop of Massa Marittima-Piombino in but had to resign due to heart problems four years later.

In June , the cardinalwas dragged into a corruption scandal. Italian media alleged that Sepe was involved striking in deals while head of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples - the Vatican congregation that uses proceeds from a property empire including 2, Rome apartments to fund missionary efforts.

In , Duka secretly entered the Dominican Order, which was then illegal in Czechoslovakia. Undeterred by the state repression, he carried on studying and attending secret Dominican meetings. Benedict XVI appointed him archbishop of Prague in and created him a cardinal on 18 February Versaldi, who has a degree in psychology and a doctorate in canon law, was appointed bishop of Alessandria in and is now president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

In Tauran entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, serving first in the Dominican Republic, then in Lebanon.

In , he was appointed as president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, a post which also means that he is in charge of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims. Vingt-Trois holds a doctorate in moral theology from the Catholic Institute in Paris. According to the cardinal, his surname is derived from an ancestor who, as a child or baby, was abandoned and found on the 23rd day of the month.

At the beginning of February this year, the archbishop of Paris also criticised French politicians the tactics they employed to pass the bill to legalise gay marriage. He did not mention Silvio Berlusconi by name. In , he received death threats and bullets after expressing his opposition to same-sex unions.

Bagnasco provoked further controversy a year later by suggesting that married people who have affairs should be forgiven by their spouses to help keep the family together. The former bishop of Savona is a keen hunter who also enjoys maintaining and repairing his arsenal. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi was appointed titular archbishop of Villamagna in Proconsolari and president of the Pontifical Commissions for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and for Sacred Archeology in September He has been president of a cultural association dedicated to making the works of Dante known throughout Italy and abroad since March Deemed papabile, he is also technology savvy and has commented on how the church ought to engage with new communications to get their messages across.

Scola, the son of a truck driver, holds doctorates in philosophy and theology and was professor of theological anthropology at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Hyacinth Egbebo Bishop Bomadi. Joseph Ekuwem Archbishop Calabar. Joseph Ukpo Emeritus Archbishop Calabar. Felix Ajakaiye Bishop Ekiti. Michael Fagun Emeritus Bishop Ekiti. Callistus Onaga Bishop Enugu. Anthony Gbuji Emeritus Bishop Enugu. William Avenya Bishop Gboko.

Gabriel Abegunrin Archbishop Ibadan. Anthony Adaji Bishop Idah. Francis Adesina Bishop Ijebu-Ode. Camillus Umoh Bishop Ikot-Ekpene. Paul Adegboyega Olawoore Bishop Ilorin. Michael Elue Bishop Issele-Uku. Charles Hammawa Bishop Jalingo. Matthew Audu Archbishop Jos. Matthew Ndagoso Archbishop Kaduna.

Peter Jatau Emeritus Bishop Kaduna. Julius Yakubu Kundi Bishop Kafanchan. John Niyiring Bishop Kano. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna Bishop Kontagora. Timothy Caroll Emeritus Bishop Kontagora. Alfred Adewale Martins Archbishop Lagos. Martins Olorunmolu Bishop Lokoja. Oliver Doeme Bishop Maiduguri. Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe Bishop Makurdi.