Cardinal Bawopur, bishop of Ganava, died in Rome on November 27 at the age of 63. The Pope sent a message of condolence to the Holy See Embassy in Ghana expressing his condolences.
(Vatican News Network)Cardinal Bawopur, bishop of Ganava, died in Rome on the evening of November 27 at the age of 63 due to health reasons. In a message of condolence, Pope Francis praised Cardinal Bawopur as a “wise and tender pastor” who “served generously for the Church in Ghana, especially for those most in need”. The pope made him a cardinal at the most recent conclave on Aug. 27, but he was absent from the ceremony because he was hospitalized in Rome.
In a message of condolence to the Holy See Embassy in Ghana, the Pope said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the death of the cardinal, and expresses his condolences to the family of the late cardinal and to the members of the African Mission Society to which he belonged, as well as to the city of Wa The diocese’s clergy, religious and lay people express their condolences”. “I recall with gratitude his faithful witness to the Gospel, his generous service to the Church of Ghana, especially to those most in need. I join the faithful in prayer, asking our merciful Heavenly Father,” the Pope wrote. Reward the labors of this wise and gentle Shepherd, and receive him into the light and peace of heaven.” Finally, the Pope bestowed his blessing on all those who “have observed the death of the late cardinal with the hope of resurrection”.
Bawopur was born in Ghana on June 21, 1959, entered the African Mission Society in 1981, and was ordained a priest in Ghana on July 18, 1987. He earned an MA in Bible and a PhD in Theology with a concentration in Biblical Theology. Bawopur was a parish priest in a parish in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2010 he was elected president of the African Mission Society, the first African priest to hold this position. In 2016, Bawopur became the bishop of Wa. In July 2022, when the 19th General Assembly of the Association of African and Madagascar Bishops was held in Accra, Ghana, Bishop Bawopur was elected as the president of the association.
Due to the death of Cardinal Bawopur, the number of members of the College of Cardinals is 225, of which 126 cardinals are qualified to elect the Pope, and 99 cardinals are exempted from electing because they are over 80 years old.
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