By the end of this week, Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr is anticipated to have heart surgery in Rome, according to the spokesperson for the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ conference.
Prior to the Vatican event when he was to receive a scarlet biretta from Pope Francis, the African cardinal was admitted to the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome last week.
According to Father Dieu-Donne Kofi Davor, the director of communications for the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the “surgery will take place before the week closes.” on August 31.
Davor stated, “We are praying for his quick recovery and swift return to Ghana.
Baawobr was appointed to the College of Cardinals on August 27 despite not participating in the consistory that Pope Francis presided over at St. Peter’s Basilica.
While receiving medical care at the Roman hospital, the 63-year-old was given the title of cardinal. Following his sermon at the consistory, Pope Francis urged the congregation to pray for Baawobr.
At the end of July, Baawobr was chosen to lead the organisation of African bishops known as SECAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar).
Since 2016, he has served as the bishop of Wa in northwest Ghana.
He is well-known in his community for his kindness and concern for persons with mental disorders in a nation where stigma around mental illness is still quite prevalent.
His diocesan street ministry, which unites parishioners with medical experts to give care and support for those with mental disorders who have been abandoned by their family, was started six years ago.
In an interview with ACI Africa, CNA’s Nairobi-based news partner, Baawobr remarked, “I believe every one of us, wherever we are, is called to serve, and that is what will make us great, not the title.” Baawobr made this statement before coming to Rome for the consistory.
Baawobr was the first African to hold the position of superior general of the Missionaries of Africa, often known as the “White Fathers” because to their distinctive white cassocks, before he was appointed Bishop of Wa.
According to Davor, one of the few individuals who have been permitted to see Baawobr while he has been hospitalised in Rome is the current superior of the Missionaries of Africa.
Despite the cardinal’s health issues, a team from the Diocese of Wa that travelled with Baawobr to Italy for the consistory has been able to complete its planned pilgrimages to basilicas in Rome and Assisi.
In the event on Saturday, Cardinal Peter Okpaleke of the Nigerian Ekwulobia Diocese and Baawobr were both named new cardinals from Africa.
Pope Francis remarked during the consistory, “I do not want to close without mentioning Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, Bishop of Wa, who yesterday, upon his arrival in Rome, felt poorly and was hospitalised with a heart condition.
He added, “Let us pray for this brother who should have been here and is in the hospital.”