Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson Emerges as Leading Candidate for Papacy Following Pope Francis’s Passing

Following the passing of Pope Francis on Monday, April 22, 2025, attention has quickly turned to the selection of his successor, with Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson emerging as one of the frontrunners.

This is not the first time Cardinal Turkson’s name has been mentioned in papal succession discussions; he was also considered a strong contender during the previous two conclaves.

Support for Cardinal Turkson

Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast, expressed strong support for Cardinal Turkson’s candidacy, describing him as “of the right age” and possessing “enough experience” to lead the Catholic Church.

A Turkson papacy would mark a historic moment—not just for Ghana, but for the entire African continent and the global Black community—as none of the Church’s 266 popes, from St. Peter to Pope Francis, have hailed from Africa.

Profile of Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson

Born on October 11, 1948, in Nsuta-Wassaw in Ghana’s Western Region, Cardinal Turkson has had a distinguished ecclesiastical career. He currently serves as Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican.

His past roles include:

• First Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development

• President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

• Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Coast

• Treasurer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM)

He has also served on various Vatican commissions, such as the Methodist-Catholic Dialogue (since 1997), the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (since 2002), and the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Goods of the Church (since 2002).

In Ghana, he serves as Chancellor of the Catholic University College of Ghana and holds advisory roles with the University of Ghana and several national development boards.

Cardinal Turkson was ordained in 1975 after studies at St. Teresa’s Minor Seminary and St. Peter’s Regional Seminary. He holds a licentiate and doctorate from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. A polyglot, he speaks Fante, English, French, Italian, German, and Hebrew fluently, and has reading knowledge of Latin and Greek.

The Papal Election Process

According to Catholic Church tradition, any Catholic man under the age of 80 is eligible to be elected Pope. However, in practice, only cardinals have been chosen.

Currently, 135 out of 252 cardinals are eligible to vote in the conclave, which is expected to convene in the next 15 to 20 days. Of these, 53 are from Europe, 23 from Asia, 21 from Latin America, 18 from Africa, 16 from North America, and 4 from Oceania.

Other Top Contenders

Alongside Cardinal Turkson, other leading candidates include:

• Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Italy)

• Cardinal Péter Erdő (Hungary)

• Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines)

• Cardinal Matteo Zuppi (Italy)

• Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke (USA)

• Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk (Netherlands)

• Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith (Sri Lanka)

• Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller (Germany)

• Cardinal Robert Sarah (Guinea)

As the world awaits the conclave, many will be watching closely to see if this historic moment brings about the first African Pope in over a millennium.