The Vice President Of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has congratulated the Catholic Bishop of Wa Diocese, Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobor on his appointment as a Cardinal. Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobor becomes the third Cardinal ever in the history of the country after Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson and the deceased Peter Porekuu Dery.
The Head of the Catholic church, Pope Francis on May, 29,2022 named 21 new cardinals around the world which included the Wa Bishop. The Pope also disclose that he will create 21 new Cardinals at a consistory on Saturday August 27, 2022.
He also said that he will meet during the next two days – on Monday and Tuesday, 29-30 August – with all the cardinals to reflect on the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate evangelium.
The Vice President Of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in a tweet noted “Congratulations to the Catholic Bishop of the Wa Diocese, Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr, on his elevation as a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church by the Pope. This is good news for Ghana and worth celebrating”.
The Vice President Of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also urged the newly appointed cardinal to keep raising the flag of Ghana high.
Bishop Baawobr, a member of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, is known in Ghana and beyond for many acts of charity and humanitarianism, key among them, his love for people suffering from mental challenges and using media platforms to create awareness about mental illnesses in a country where stigmatization of people with such challenges is high.
Born on June 21, 1959, in Tom-Zendagangn, Ko in the Nandon District of Ghana’s Wa Diocese, he had his Primary education at Tom-Zendagangn from 1965 to 1972 and continued at the St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Wa from 1971 to 1977.
He had his Secondary Education at the Nandom Secondary School and St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary.
The College of Cardinals currently consists of 208 Cardinals, of whom 117 are electors and 91 non-electors. As of 27 August, the number will grow to 229 Cardinals, of whom 131 will be electors.