“If we start with them, as Pope Francis would do, if we are able to truly step beyond our own shadows and boundaries, if we are truly ready to give ourselves completely, then we could transform society into one of the most beautiful in Africa and the world,” the Dutch-born Vatican diplomat said.
The late Pope Francis, he went on to say, “was very much aware of the fact that in serving them (the poor), he was serving Christ himself.”
Pope Francis passed on Easter Monday, April 21. He was laid to rest at “his beloved” Papal Basilica of Mary Major on April 26 as he had explained in his testament.
The late Pontiff had suffered a stroke that was followed by a coma and an irreversible cardiovascular collapse. He had been struggling with double pneumonia and a respiratory infection.
On April 28, the College of Cardinals announced that the Conclave to elect the 267th Pope will begin on May 7.
In the May 1 interview, the representative of the Pope in Kenya reflected on the Conclave, saying that the Cardinal Electors will be “completely isolated from the world” and will “have no clue what is going on in those days in the world around them.”
“They cannot and should not be influenced at this point from any opinion outside,” Archbishop van Megen said, adding that “even the people who work with the Cardinals at that point take an oath of secrecy and are prohibited from speaking to the Cardinals.”
“Let's say the driver of the bus who takes them from Santa Marta to the Sistine Chapel, or maybe two or three doctors who are always there, or maybe a few Priests who are there always to hear confessions, or maybe there is a Cardinal who is not doing so well, he needs to be pushed in his wheelchair — they all have an oath of secrecy, and they are not allowed to speak to the Cardinals,” he explained.
18 Cardinals from Africa are among the 133 Cardinal Electors, two missing out due to health-related limitations, including Kenya’s 79-year-old John Cardinal Njue.
Nicholas Waigwa is a Kenyan multimedia journalist and broadcast technician with a professional background in creating engaging news stories and broadcasting content across multiple media platforms. He is passionate about the media apostolate and Catholic Church communication.
