African bishop who visited Peru in 2018 named a cardinal

Have you ever met a cardinal? The kind who wears red vestments and votes to elect the pope? If you attend Peru Catholic Parishes, then you might have met one in fall 2018.

Antoine Kambanda celebrated Masses at St. Joseph and St. Valentine churches two years ago while visiting the Rev. John Baptist Uwigaba, an old friend from seminary. Kambanda was then bishop of a diocese in Rwanda, one of Africa’s smallest countries and its most densely populated, and three months later became archbishop of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital.

Earlier this week, Kambanda was named a cardinal. He’s getting the red hat reserved for a prince of the Catholic Church, will be addressed as “His Eminence” and becomes a dual-citizen of Vatican City. And when the time comes to replace Pope Francis, who turns 84 a week before Christmas, Kambanda will vote for a new pontiff – with a shot at becoming the first African pope in modern times.

“I was extremely happy and still am happy about this,” said Uwigaba, who befriended Kambanda in 1985 when both were seminarians in Kenya.

Kambanda also extended his regards and gratitude to Peru’s parishioners and to the pastor, Monsignor Richard Soseman, all of whom received him “very warmly.”

Soseman said he was impressed meeting the then-bishop. Kambanda, he recalled, had a “natural” courtesy about him and was very approachable with Peru parishioners. Soseman immediately fired off congratulations on behalf of the Peru parishes and Kambanda responded, “very happy to have heard from us.”

Kambanda will receive the red hat Thanksgiving weekend at the Vatican, where Uwigaba might have been a guest were it not for COVID-19 and resulting travel restrictions. Uwigaba said he’s “not disappointed at all” that he’ll miss the ceremony, but he is looking forward to seeing his old friend again, whether at the Vatican or in Africa.

Kambanda isn’t the first modern-times cardinal from Africa – that barrier was broken in 1960 under Pope John XXIII – but he is the first from Rwanda, a nation known for civil war and genocide in the 1990s.

“It was terrible to see a Catholic and Christian community divided and killing each other during the genocide,” Kambanda told Vatican News in an interview after he was made a cardinal. “We thank the Lord for the journey we have taken so far. At this time, however, we have reached a level of reconciliation and unity ... And now, yes, I have been given a new challenge in the role of evangelization within the universal Church. I will try to witness to the best of my abilities and make my contribution and share solidarity with others who are also suffering violent conflicts and divisions in the communities.”

Kambanda was one of 13 new cardinals created Oct. 25, raising the membership of the College of Cardinals to 231. Though any Catholic man is eligible to be pope, in practice a pontiff is chosen from among the cardinals and that means Kambanda, who soon turns 62, will vote for the next pope and would himself be a candidate.

“Only God knows,” Uwigaba said when asked if his old friend might someday be pope. “He has good qualities. He is a man who loves God and his church. He is a man of prayer, intelligent, hard-working and loves people.”

Soseman said he’s no more sure of who’ll be the next pontiff, but he acknowledged the growing likelihood a future pope will come from Africa, South America or Oceania. Francis himself is from Argentina (albeit of Italian descent) and two Africans, Peter Turkson of Ghana and Francis Arinze of Nigeria, were considered viable contenders at the 2013 conclave that elected Francis.