Why We Need a Pope From Africa

Fr Longenecker makes a good case that the new Pope should be from Africa, which meshes with the "people's choice", Cardinal Sarah.

From Crisis

By Fr Dwight Longenecker

The Catholic Church needs to look to the African continent to lead us through the present and coming challenges assailing our faith. Here’s why.

As the cardinals gather in conclave, one of the questions on our minds is how the global Church can grow in unity. Francis’ pontificate aggravated deep differences between tradition and progress, between the developed world and the global south, and between continuity and innovation.

In addition to the turmoil in the Church, the complexities of the 21st century have thrown us into a whirlwind of unprecedented technological change, bringing about upheavals in our understanding of the human person and conflicts in politics, economics, education, and health care. In the midst of the maelstrom and the shifting sands, where does one find the rock on which to build?

Can the Catholic Church still offer that rock? I believe a pope from Africa can lead the way, and here’s why:

Youthful Zeal

First, the Church in Africa is young and strong. There are over 230 million African Catholics—representing nearly one-fifth of the global Catholic population; and this powerhouse of faith is young. Africa has a median age of just 19.7 years. Unlike Europe and North America, where aging congregations and declining church attendance signal a crisis of faith, African churches are filled with young, enthusiastic worshippers.

In Nigeria, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Catholic churches are bursting with energy. They have vibrant liturgies, packed seminaries, and a growing number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Nigeria alone has over 30 million Catholics and produces thousands of priests annually. 

This youthful vigor is spiritual as well as numerical. African Catholics bring an infectious enthusiasm to their faith, characterized by lively worship, deep devotion to the sacraments, and a strong sense of community. An African pope, emerging from this dynamic context, would embody this energy, offering a vision of hope and renewal to a global Church grappling with secularism and apathy.African Catholics today are modern-day martyrs, their faith strengthened by sacrifice and suffering. An African pope, shaped by this context, would bring a prophetic voice to the global stage.Tweet This

Perseverance in Persecution

Across the continent, particularly in northern Nigeria, Somalia, and parts of the Sahel, Catholics face relentless persecution from Muslim extremists. Groups like Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab have targeted Christian communities, burning churches, kidnapping priests, and massacring worshippers. In 2023 alone, thousands of Christians were killed in Nigeria, and countless others were displaced. Yet, in the face of such violence, African Catholics have shown extraordinary courage, refusing to renounce their faith even under threat of death.

African Catholics today are modern-day martyrs, their faith strengthened by sacrifice and suffering. An African pope, shaped by this context, would bring a prophetic voice to the global stage, reminding the Church of the cost of discipleship and the power of unwavering faith. Such leadership would galvanize Catholics worldwide to stand firm in their beliefs, even in the face of cultural or ideological pressures.

A Radical Christianity

In my book Beheading Hydra: A Radical Plan for Christians in an Atheistic Age, I outline three historical responses to attacks on the Christian Faith: repression, accommodation, and radical Christianity. Repression of the enemies of the Faith only makes martyrs of them and drives them underground to reemerge in a later age much stronger. Accommodation—seeking to find common ground and dialogue with the enemies of the Church—weakens the Church and waters down her witness. 

Radical Christianity is simply a return to the roots—not a return to some fantasy neverland of tradition or some sort of obnoxious, self-righteous extremism, but a simple return to the foundation of the Faith. Radical Christianity does not argue with, repress, or accommodate the enemies of the Faith. It simply lives out the power of the Resurrection in the dynamism of the Holy Spirit. Our Western Church, so cluttered with indifferentism, materialism, and ennui, needs a red-blooded return to radical religion—a faith lived out with the simplicity, power and depth we sense in the pages of the New Testament itself.

Uncluttered Christianity

Not only is the African Church huge, young, and strong, but there is a deeper philosophical reason why an African pope is the medicine we need. The European Church (and I include the Catholic Church of North and South America because we are children of Europe) has been shaped by five hundred years of theological, philosophical, and cultural turmoil. 

The ideas of the Protestant Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, Liberalism, Modernism, and Postmodernism have infected our mindset, contaminated our theology, and corrupted our culture. African Catholics (for the most part) approach Christianity with a freshness untainted by these struggles. Many African converts come directly from traditional tribal religions, bringing a worldview that resonates deeply with the incarnational and supernatural nature of Catholicism.

This is not to say that the African cardinals are uneducated, backwoods rubes. They are as educationally accomplished as their Western counterparts (Cardinal Sarah, for example, is a world-class biblical scholar), but they have come to that education unburdened by the intellectual biases and presuppositions that shadow their Western colleagues.

As a result, African Catholicism is marked by a purity and simplicity that recalls the early Church—before it was layered with complex theological disputes, infected with modern philosophical doubt, and corrupted by the assumptions of cultural and political ideologies.

African Catholics embrace the supernatural with a natural ease that contrasts with the skepticism of the secular West. Miracles, divine providence, and the reality of spiritual warfare are not abstract concepts but lived experiences. This radical faith—radical in the sense of returning to the roots of Christianity—offers a powerful antidote to the spiritual malaise afflicting parts of the global Church. An African pope, steeped in this worldview, could lead the Church back to its foundational truths, emphasizing the joy of the Gospel and the transformative power of Christ.

Continuity and Stability

Coming from South America, Pope Francis introduced an agenda from the developing world. Our attention was turned to the plight of the global poor, the need to be good stewards of the earth’s resources, the needs of immigrants, and the perspective of the majority of the world’s Catholics who live in poverty.

An African pope would offer continuity with Francis’ concerns about these global issues. With firsthand experience of these challenges, an African pontiff could speak with moral authority, advocating for economic justice and solidarity while grounding solutions in the Church’s social teaching.

Envision for a moment how an African pope might navigate the liturgy wars in the Church. On the one hand, he is likely to be tolerant or even encouraging toward traditional worship; on the other hand, he will allow and endorse the often rumbustious and joyful African style of worship. 

African Catholics are unafraid not only to worship enthusiastically but also to proclaim the Gospel in its fullness, even when it is countercultural. Issues like the sanctity of life, the dignity of the family, and the centrality of God in public life are nonnegotiable for African believers.

This uncompromising stance is not born of rigidity but of a deep encounter with Christ and fidelity to the fullness of the Catholic Faith. African Catholics live that Faith holistically, integrating it into every aspect of their lives—family, work, and community. This mirrors the early Church, where Christianity was not a set of doctrines but a transformative relationship with the risen Lord. An African pope could inspire the global Church to reclaim this holistic vision, challenging Catholics to live their Faith boldly in a world that often demands compromise.

The Future Is Now

It is commonplace to assert that Africa is the Church of the future. In fact, the future is now. Africa is the epicenter of Catholic growth, courage, and fidelity. Offering a model of faith that is both ancient and urgently up-to-date, an African pope would offer continuity with the papacies of Benedict and Francis and naturally fulfill the promise of the Second Vatican Council. The right man would embody the Church’s universality, bridging the global North and South and reminding the world that Catholicism is not a Western institution but a global family rooted in Christ.

As our Catholic Church stands at a crossroads, an African pope could lead it into a new era of evangelization, renewal, and witness. The youth, vigor, and courage of the African Church, combined with its strong and radical faith, make this not just a possibility but a necessity. The time for an African pope is now, for the sake of the Church and the world she is called to serve.