Kenya's Cardinal John Njue will not participate in the much-awaited papal conclave to elect Pope Francis's successor due to health reasons.
In an official communication, sources in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, ACI Africa—CNA’s news partner in Africa—told the Vatican that Cardinal Njue was not in a health capacity to travel to Rome for the elections.
Cardinal Njue has been unwell for some time, limiting his public appearances and events he participates.
In January, Njue gave an update on his health and revealed that he was not as strong as he used to be, but he still had a duty to look after his flock.
“As you can see, I am not very strong, but I committed to coming and celebrating this mass with you. There is a lot of work to be done in God’s vineyard, and you are the ones to do it. It is your time,'' Njue said during mass at St.Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church-Tena.
The update on his health came after allegations that the Cardinal had passed away, with the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) coming out strongly to denounce the rumours.
135 Cardinals are expected to participate in the voting, but Njue's absence and the absence of Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares will reduce the number of those participating to 133.
During a press briefing on April 29, Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, stated that two cardinal electors would not participate in the conclave due to health reasons, but the Vatican did not reveal their names at the time.
Other cardinals that will be participating in the voting include 53 from Europe, 37 from America,23 from Asia, 18 from Africa, and 4 from Oceania.
According to the rules, the oldest person eligible to vote for a new pope should be 79 years old. In the upcoming elections, the youngest voter will be 45 years old.
Roman Catholic cardinals will begin their secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global Church on May 7.
The date was decided during a closed-door meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, the first since the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.
