Catholic Bishops in Africa Eulogize Cardinal Who Served “with dedication, generosity”

He further extends condolences to “all the Bishops of Africa and Madagascar; to the Bishops of Ghana; to the Clergy, Consecrated Persons and lay faithful of the Diocese of Wa; to his religious family, the Missionaries of Africa; to his biological family, and to all the people who knew him.”

In the one-page tribute, the Congolese member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (O.F.M., Cap) who serves as the President of the Justice, Peace and Development Commission of SECAM invites “all the faithful of the Church, Family of God in Africa and Madagascar, to pray for the eternal rest of this illustrious departed in the House of the Father.”

Cardinal Baawobr was among the 21 Pope Francis named on May 29, and among the 20 he created during the August 27 Consistory.

The Ghanaian-born Cardinal missed the August 27 Consistory due to a heart problem. On the day of the Consistory, he had been admitted at Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome. 

On October 7, Pope Francis appointed him to the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

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The Holy Father has eulogized the Cardinal who died days after he was discharged from hospital in Rome as a “faithful witness to the gospel”.

In a telegram message on November 29, Pope Francis said he learned “with sadness” of the death of the Local Ordinary Ghana’s Wa Diocese and joined the people of God in praying for the soul of “this wise and gentle pastor.”

The Holy Father extended his “heartfelt condolences” to Cardinal Baawobr’s family, Missionaries of Africa, and the Clergy, women and men Religious, and the Laity of the Ghanaian Catholic Diocese.

He acknowledged with appreciation “Cardinal Baawobr’s faithful witness to the gospel marked by generous service to the Church in Ghana, especially to those most in need.”

“I willingly join the faithful in praying that our merciful father may grant to this wise and gentle pastor the reward of his labors and welcome him into the light and peace of heaven,” Pope Francis said about the late Ghanaian Cardinal.