According to him, Bishop Baawobr’s appointment is "good news for Ghana and worth celebrating."
“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,” Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia wrote on his Facebook timeline, Sunday, May 29, 2022.
Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr, is one of the two Cardinals from Africa who were named among 21 new Cardinals by Pope Francis to be created on 27th August 2022.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, GNA, Bishop Baawobr said, he received the news of his elevation with shock and surprise as he never anticipated that status, but added that it was a divine call to service, which he had to honour.
“It really came to me as a surprise because a couple of days ago, I was in Rome to attend a meeting at the Pontifical Council of Promoting Christian Unity and nobody said anything. I did not suspect anything.
“It was in the newspapers I read that there were going to be cardinals who would be appointed, but I said this concerns, other people, it doesn’t concern me because, in my understanding, it is Archbishops who are appointed as cardinals, not the Bishops who are in Diocese”, he intimated.
Most Rev. Baawobr explained that his goal was to serve God and mankind regardless of the position he held saying, “What is important is to serve other people with joy”.
Pope Francis on Sunday, May 29, 2022, announced 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.
“On Saturday, 27 August, I will hold a Consistory for the creation of new Cardinals. Let us pray that they will help me in my mission as Bishop of Rome for the good of all God's people,” Pope Francis said.
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.
Eight of the newly named Cardinals are from Europe, six from Asia, two from Africa, one from North America, and four from Central and Latin America.
Here are the names of all 21 new cardinals:
1. Archbishop Arthur Roche - Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
2. Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung sik – Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
3. Archbishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, L.C. – President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate for Vatican City State
4. Archbishop Jean-Marc Aveline - Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille (France)
5. Bishop Peter Okpaleke - Bishop of Ekwulobia (Nigeria)
6. Archbishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, O.F.M. - Metropolitan Archbishop of Manaus (Brazil)
7. Archbishop Filipe Neri António Sebastião di Rosário Ferrão - Archbishop of Goa and Damão (India)
8. Bishop Robert Walter McElroy – Bishop of San Diego (U.S.A)
9. Archbishop Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, S.D.B. – Archbishop of Dili (East Timor)
10. Bishop Oscar Cantoni - Bishop of Como (Italy)
11. Archbishop Anthony Poola - Archbishop di Hyderabad (India)
12. Archbishop Paulo Cezar Costa - Metropolitan Archbishop of Brasília (Brazil)
13. Bishop Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M. Africa - Bishop of Wa (Ghana)
14. Archbishop William Goh Seng Chye - Archbishop of Singapore (Singapore)
15. Archbishop Adalberto Martínez Flores - Metropolitan Archbishop of Asunción (Paraguay)
16. Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, I.M.C. – Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)
17. Archbishop Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal - Archbishop Emeritus of Cartagena (Colombia)
18. Bishop Lucas Van Looy, S.D.B. - Bishop Emeritus of Gent (Belgium)
19. Archbishop Arrigo Miglio - Archbishop Emeritus of Cagliari (Italy)
20. Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J. – Professor di Theology
21. Msgr. Fortunato Frezza – Canon of Saint Peter's Basilica
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia