Okpaleke, 16 African Cardinals among electors set to elect new Pope

How Pope Francis was buried in underground tomb

NIGERIAN Cardinal Peter Okpaleke, the Catholic Bishop of Ekwulobia in Anambra State, is among 17 African cardinals set to elect Pope Francis’s successor at the Vatican in May.

In an interview with Sunday Tribune, Most Rev. Emmanuel Badejo, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, disclosed that Cardinal Okpaleke, 62, and other cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to cast a vote for the next Pope.

“We have three Cardinals from Nigeria, but only one [Cardinal Okpaleke] is currently eligible to vote. In Africa, there are 29 Cardinals, of whom 17 are electors. So, as I told you, this is not a political process. It’s not an ‘Emi lo kan’ process. We pray and we have been praying for the best outcome. And I tell you, not just Catholics, but people of other faiths have been praying because you can understand that the authority and leadership of the Pope do not just affect Catholics, but the whole of humanity,” Most Rev. Badejo said.

The College of Cardinals, which consists of cardinals under 80, is usually summoned between 9 and 15 days after the Pope’s burial to elect a successor.

In the coming days, at least 135 cardinals, including Cardinal Okpaleke, are expected to gather in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and participate in a continuous voting process until someone emerges with a two-thirds majority and is announced as the new Pope.

“They continue voting until someone emerges with a two-thirds majority. If a Pope is elected, white smoke rises from the chapel. If not, black smoke is seen. There have been unduly long times in the past, so nobody can really tell when the process will conclude. It is not a political process—there’s no fixed calendar. It depends on the Holy Spirit,” Most Rev. Badejo added.

Pope Francis was on Saturday laid to rest in a simple underground tomb at St. Mary Major Basilica after a funeral ceremony at the Vatican.

This made him the first pontiff in more than 100 years to be buried outside the Vatican. The Pope’s unadorned tomb, marked by a single Latin word — Franciscus — was intended, a cleric said, to reflect a life of “simplicity and essential things”.

Large crowds lined the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, where 250,000 people passed through to see Francis lie in state for three days following his death on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88.

“The [burial] rite took place according to the prescriptions of the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, presided over by the Cardinal Camerlengo, in the presence of those indicated in the relevant Notification of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations and the relatives of the deceased Pope, and concluded at 1.30 p.m. [12.30 p.m. Nigerian time],” a statement from the Vatican read.

Some of the crowd waited overnight to secure a seat for the ceremony, with the Vatican reporting some 250,000 people in the square and surrounding streets during the ceremony.

The crowds, packed with young people, applauded as the Pope’s coffin was carried out of St Peter’s Basilica by white-gloved pallbearers, accompanied by more than 200 red-robed cardinals.

The Pope’s coffin was placed on a carpet in front of the altar, with the Book of Gospels laid on top, as the Vatican choirs sang.

Choirs sang Latin hymns and prayers were recited in various languages, including Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and Arabic, reflecting the global reach of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church.

Massed ranks of red-robed cardinals sat to one side of the altar, facing rows of black-suited world leaders on the other side. In front of them were hundreds of priests in white vestments and then thousands of ordinary mourners.

The Mass featured a homily by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, who praised Francis’s simplicity and courage. “He was a shepherd who walked among his flock, unafraid to challenge the powerful and comfort the forgotten,” Re said, his voice echoing across the square. The congregation, many holding candles and photographs of the late Pope, responded with applause, a rare break from the solemnity.

He praised the late Catholic Church leader as “a Pope among the people, with an open heart,” who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church. He further hailed the Pope’s “conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open.”

“The final image we have of him, which will remain etched in our memory, in our eyes and our hearts, is that of last Sunday, Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis, despite his serious health problems, wanted to give us his blessings from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica. He then came down to this square to greet, from his open popemobile, the large crowd gathered for the Easter Mass,” Cardinal Re said to the gathering.

The Cardinal also said the Pope “incessantly raised his voice” for peace and urged people to “build bridges, not walls.”

“He was a Pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone. He was also a Pope attentive to the signs of the times and what the Holy Spirit was awakening in the Church. With his characteristic vocabulary and language rich in images and metaphors, he always sought to shed light on the problems of our time with the wisdom of the Gospel,” he stated.

Cardinal Re added: “He had great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone, even those far from the Church. Rich in human warmth and deeply sensitive to today’s challenges, Pope Francis truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time.

“He gave of himself by comforting and encouraging us with a message capable of reaching people’s hearts in a direct and immediate way. His charisma of welcome and listening, combined with a manner of behaviour in keeping with today’s sensitivities, touched hearts and sought to reawaken moral and spiritual sensibilities.”

Following the Mass, a smaller procession accompanied the Pope’s plain cypress coffin into the basilica’s grottoes. In accordance with his wishes, Francis was buried in a modest tomb near the remains of St Peter, the Church’s first Pope.

The procession was met by about 40 migrants, prisoners, homeless and transgender people, each holding a white rose, signalling Francis’s care for the inclusion of marginalised groups.

Francis’s papacy, which began in 2013, was defined by bold reforms and a pastoral approach. He tackled issues like climate change, migration, and economic inequality, often sparking debate within and outside the Church. His encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015) called for environmental stewardship, while his 2016 document Amoris Laetitia opened discussions on family and marriage, drawing both praise and criticism.

“He challenged us to live the Gospel, not just preach it,” Sister Lucia Caram, an Argentine nun who worked closely with Francis, said. “His legacy is a Church that listens.”

Philip Ibitoye