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NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) – As African Catholics continue to welcome the election of the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, Ethiopia’s cardinal expressed hope he would prioritize the teaching of sound doctrine and good governance in the church.
Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa expressed hope Pope Leo would reach out to other faiths and peoples.
“I would expect him to strengthen sound doctrine and good governance in the church, and build bridges among religions and peoples,” the cardinal told OSV News.
Cardinal Souraphiel said that the conclave “went well and he was elected in the fourth secret ballot.”
Prior General’s Visits to Africa
The Ethiopian prelate spoke as Catholic Church leaders on the continent continued to share their experiences in meeting the former prior general of the Augustinian order, now Pope Leo.
The 69-year-old pope, the first American pontiff in history, is not new to Africa, having visited Nigeria nine times, between 2001 and 2016. Eight of the visits were when he was prior general of the Augustinian order. His ninth visit, in 2016, was when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and he returned to Nigeria in 2016 for the Augustinian Intermediate General Chapter.
When he was prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops at the Vatican, before his election as pope,
he visited Kenya in 2024, where he presided over the dedication of the Marian Grotto and the Church of Mother of Good Counsel at the Augustinian Monastery in the Karen area of Nairobi on Dec. 10.
‘Everyone Can Find a Place’
“Christ is the door through which we all pass to find salvation; the door of the church is open so that everyone can find a place, be welcome, and become part of this great community,” then-Cardinal Prevost said in his address, according to the news agency of the Dicastery of Evangelization, Fides. “We must learn to open the doors of our hearts in love.”
When he appeared on TV screens as the new pope, members of the Augustinian order in Nairobi were emotional.
“I saw a brother we welcomed, prayed with and walked beside under the Kenyan sun,” Father James Wambugu, an Augustinian priest in Nairobi, told the Daily Nation media outlet. In the interview, Father Wambugu described Pope Leo as a person who advocated for the rights of the poor and marginalized.
Catholics in Congo remember then-Father Prevost’s visit to the country in 2009 as prior general. He had traveled to Bas–Uele province and the capital, Kinshasa, where he inaugurated the Augustinian University. The country where almost half of the population identify themselves as Catholic — the highest number of Catholics in Africa, according to 2023 statistics — is struggling with a deadly conflict in three mineral rich eastern provinces, Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu.
Reflections on Conclave
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences in Africa and Madagascar, or SECAM, said in an interview with Vatican News, that the choice of Cardinal Prevost as the new pope was plausible for the cardinal electors.
“The overall impression, as you saw when the cardinals came out (of the conclave), is one of joy — everyone was satisfied with the choice of Pope Leo XIV,” said Cardinal Ambongo Besungu.
“Because before God — and that’s why we took our oath and acted in conscience — we reached an inner conviction that he was the one among us who best matched the profile we had defined.”
The cardinal stressed that the root of challenges such as poverty and violence, lies “in the issue of living together, which is problematic—not only among Africans themselves but also with external powers that come into our countries.”
Africa ‘Important’ for New Pope
“I believe that for Africa, it would be very important for the new pope to advance the process of synodality, which could be a real springboard for resolving many of our conflicts,” said Ethiopian Cardinal Souraphiel, an outspoken leader on social issues, who was jailed as a young priest from 1979 to 1989 by the military junta of the Marxist ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Bishop Charles Kasonde of Solwezi, Zambia, president of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, known as AMECEA, said the regional grouping was particularly moved by the Holy Father’s emphasis on a missionary church that builds bridges and dialogue.
“This reflects the pastoral and social realities of our region, where the Church strives to be a beacon of hope, reconciliation, and solidarity among communities facing significant trials,” he said in a May 14 statement.
Cardinal Souraphiel told OSV News that in Pope Leo’s plan to continue the legacy of all pontiffs after the Second Vatican Council, “he will not be alone since the whole church is praying for him.”
The Ethiopian cardinal also thanked the late Pope Francis for his love and attention for the continent.
Fredrick Nzwili writes for OSV News from Nairobi, Kenya.
