Cardinal Richard Baawobr, bishop of Wa, Ghana, died in Rome on Sunday evening at the age of 63.
The cardinal had been hospitalized for heart problems after arriving in Rome in late August, and was therefore unable to attend the Vatican ceremony at which he was elevated to the College of Cardinals Aug. 27.
Baawobr died around 5:45 p.m. on Nov. 27, after being taken by ambulance to Rome’s Gemelli hospital, according to a press release from André-Léon Simonart, secretary general of the Missionaries of Africa.
The African cardinal was hospitalized at Santo Spirito hospital close to the Vatican from Aug. 26 to Oct. 15, when he was transferred to the larger Gemelli Polyclinic and University Hospital to receive more specialized care.
On Nov. 18, he was discharged from the hospital and moved into the general house of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, commonly known as the “White Fathers” for their distinctive white cassocks, of which he was a member.
Baawobr was expected to undergo heart surgery, but according to a communication from the missionary society, as of Nov. 1, the cardinal was still waiting for doctors to decide “the modalities and the time for an intervention.” Continue reading