Cardinal maintains he has been excluded from the Conclave and does not know why

“They didn’t invite me to the Conclave”: Kenyan Cardinal Njue protests. But his Diocese denies it

The Cardinal declared to the Daily Nation that he had not been called by Rome. But the official invitation has arrived. And doubts remain about his age, which would exclude him from the electorate

Maybe a birthday question

He says he has all the credentials to participate in the Conclave. Yet he complains that he has not received any official invitation. But the Archbishop of Nairobi Philip Anyolo denies the statements of Kenyan Cardinal John Njue: in a statement sent to the national media and reported by the Daily Nation, he explained that Njue would be eligible to participate and was officially invited through the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya, but his health conditions would not allow him to travel. Period. The Kenyan diocese intervened to deny the interview given to the same newspaper by the cardinal, who – contrary to what the Diocese of Nairobi says – explained that he is not ill, that he had not received any invitation and that he did not know the reasons for his exclusion from the conclave. “I honestly do not know why I was excluded from the Conclave, I do not understand the reason,” he declared, denying the rumors that he was in precarious health conditions and therefore unable to participate in the vote that will decide Pope Francis’ successor starting tomorrow. “Those who go there for the election usually receive official invitations and this did not happen in my case.” Then, recalling his presence at the Conclave in March 2013 when Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected, he specified: “It is not for health reasons, really, it is difficult to comment.” All denied by Nairobi.

But another shadow also looms over the case: the cardinal, the only one still alive in Kenya, had also been hypothesized to have reached an age limit, after checks by the Vatican that would have moved the official age beyond the declared 79 years. According to the registry office, he would be 80 years old, which is the age limit to participate in the conclave. His age had in fact recently been corrected, at his suggestion, in the papal yearbook. The same choice was made by Cardinal Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo, Archbishop Emeritus of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Unlike Njue, however, he will be at the Conclave and will vote. Ouédraogo, in the Pontifical Yearbook 2024, is listed as having been born on 25 January 1945. Therefore, he would have already turned 80 before the beginning of the Sede Vacante of 2025 and this would automatically make him a non-elector cardinal. But, and here is the twist, in the Pontifical Yearbook 2025 his date of birth suddenly became 31 December 1945. Therefore, rejuvenating himself by one year and officially being 79 years old, the doors of the Sistine Chapel will open for him and he will therefore be one of the 133 cardinal electors called to elect Francis' successor.

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