Pope Francis ministered to the poor in Kenya and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s feuding rulers in a plea for peace. He urged Christians and Muslims to reconcile in the Central African Republic and condemned the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And he elevated African church leaders who will help choose his successor — and shape the future of the church
During Francis’s 12-year papacy, the number of African Catholics jumped from about 176 million to 281 million, according to Vatican statistics, even as church attendance stagnated or declined in other parts of the world. Today, 1 in 5 of the world’s Catholics live on the continent.
“Africa is now the hope of the church — the seed of faith is sprouting here far more than in the Western world,” said Stephen Anaedu, a parish priest in northwest Nigeria. “We used to have White Western missionaries coming here to teach us about religion. Now … Africans are going to evangelize the world.”
Congo has the highest number of baptized Catholics globally at nearly 55 million, followed by Nigeria, with 35 million. Africa and Asia are the only regions where the number of priests is increasing, the Vatican says.
Johnstone Kpilaakaa, a 25-year-old writer and practicing Catholic in the Nigerian city of Jos, said that young Africans are already “actively shaping” the future of the church, sometimes in unexpected ways. He said hundreds of Nigerians gather daily on X to pray the rosary together. Catholicism in Nigeria, he said, is characterized by its “intensity” — a Georgetown University study found 94 percent of the country’s Catholics attend Mass at least once a week.
“This is the direction the church is headed,” Kpilaakaa said. “Not a one-way relationship where Africa receives, but a reciprocal one where Africa contributes spiritually, intellectually and prophetically.”
In a reflection of the church’s demographic shifts, Francis nominated a historically diverse pool of cardinals — 18 of the 135 eligible to vote in the upcoming conclave are from Africa, prompting speculation there could be an African pontiff for the first time in modern history.
No matter who is selected, this region will be pivotal in determining the direction of the faith. The church here tends to be substantially more conservative than in other parts of the world, and leaders from the continent clashed openly with Francis in recent years — particularly after he issued guidance in late 2023 that priests could offer blessings to same-sex couples.
Regional Catholic leaders released a public letter saying there would be no blessings for same-sex couples in Africa’s churches because such unions are “contrary to the will of God” and “intrinsically disordered.” The letter was spearheaded by Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, who is the archbishop of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and among those who could possibly succeed Francis.
Other African cardinals thought to be in the running are Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, a close adviser to Francis, including on climate issues, who is seen as more progressive; and Cardinal Robert Sarah, a staunch conservative from Guinea who has urged the church to stay true to its traditional teachings.
Anaedu, the Nigerian priest, said the Western focus on liberalism and “this idea that I want to live freely, at all costs,” including when it comes to issues of same-sex marriage and abortion, has been “catastrophic for the church.”
During last year’s Catholic synod, there was a dialogue between Western and African bishops on LGBTQ+ issues, said Ebuka Mbanude, a Nigerian priest who serves in the Archdiocese of Washington, with one African bishop likening same-sex unions to “witchcraft.”
A thornier question for church leaders in Africa, he added, is how to treat polygamous marriages. Catholic doctrine is clear that marriage should be between one man and one woman, he said, but it is still common in parts of Africa, including in Catholic communities, for men to marry more than one woman.
As cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel, Mbanude imagines they will seek a pope who “is going to be open to the discussion and will guide the church through gray areas.”
In meetings ahead of the conclave, many church leaders will emphasize the importance of “clarity” on church doctrine, including on issues such as same-sex blessings, said Paulinus I. Odozor, a priest and professor at the University of Notre Dame.
The issue is important for many African leaders, Odozor said, who feel strongly that “doctrine should not be watered down.” But he does not think African cardinals will necessarily vote as a bloc, noting that many factors weigh on the ultimate decision.
Francis, whatever his doctrinal differences with the African church, was adored across the continent, said Andreas Mac Mabior, a South Sudanese political analyst who leads the choir at the archdiocese in Juba, because he showed genuine care for the downtrodden and the forgotten.
Francis visited the region five times over the course of his papacy, leading massive, adoring crowds in prayer. He spoke honestly about the damaging legacy of colonialism, lambasted elites who hoard wealth, advocated for migrants and waded into some of Africa’s most intractable conflicts.
Even in his final weeks, Mabior noted, Francis was writing to the leaders of South Sudan, urging them to de-escalate tensions that have revived fears of a return to all-out war.
“We knew that South Sudan was in his heart,” said Mabior, who met Francis when he visited the country in 2023. “He made us feel like we were part of the family of God.”
In Sudan’s isolated Nuba Mountains, Tom Catena, an American Catholic missionary who runs one of only two functioning hospitals, was making the rounds in the malnutrition ward Monday when his wife stepped quietly into the room to break the news. “You need to get to Mass,” he remembers her saying.
Catena recalled pausing for a moment to gather himself, then setting off to the hospital’s small hillside chapel, where the soft rumble of drums mixed with the lilt of hymns.
“Pope Francis died this morning,” priest James William told worshipers, his voice steady but heavy. “He was a pope of peace.”
He recalled the extraordinary moment in 2019 when Francis knelt to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s president and vice president, beseeching them to uphold their fragile truce. But it wasn’t enough.
“They didn’t listen,” William said.When Francis visited Kenya in 2015, he wanted to reach the heart of one of Nairobi’s most impoverished slums, recalled Sister Mary Killeen, and was disappointed when logistics meant that he had to go to a less central area. When he saw that members of Parliament had taken seats reserved for locals, he reacted angrily.
“He told them off and said, ‘I came to meet the poor, and tomorrow you members of Parliament have your day,’” she said. “He made us feel important and seen.”
Among those in the audience when Francis read the Mass in Kenya was a 32-year-old gay Anglican man. Just two years before, Francis famously said: “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”
Those words, said the man, who was studying in theological college at the time, “gave me an iota of hope.” He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears for his safety in Kenya, which, like many African countries, criminalizes homosexual acts and has in recent years considered making the laws even harsher.
But listening to Francis “gave me hope in the future, which I wasn’t always sure of,” the young man said. “He showed me I could be authentic to myself … and also hold on to my faith.”
