Doubts about whether a Cardinal can vote following age mix up - this could be vital to the outcome

There is mystery surrounding the date of birth of Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo. In fact, in the 2024 Pontifical Yearbook he was born on 25 January 1945, while in the 2025 edition he was born on 31 December of the same year. Eleven months that make a difference, considering that those over 80 lose the right to vote in the Conclave.

The case, reported, among others, by Il Messaggero, had been brought to light in March by Vatican correspondent Hendro Munsterman in the Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad. Furthermore, in recent months, we read on the website of the Roman newspaper, the change of the date of birth on the Vatican portal had also been reported.

The cardinal's reply - "In my village there were neither hospitals nor schools. I was born at home and was not given a date of birth", Ouédraogo explained to Munsterman. The date of 25 January 1945 was apparently chosen completely randomly when the cardinal, originally from Burkina Faso, entered the seminary. This date was later confirmed in ecclesiastical documents when he was ordained a priest in 1973.

However, in his passport, the cardinal's date of birth appears as 31 December 1945. "A common practice in Burkina Faso for citizens whose date of birth is unknown. As Munsterman explained, it is an administrative convention of the national registry office: in these cases, the date of December 31 is automatically assigned," we read in the Messaggero.

But why change the date in the Pontifical Yearbook right now? "It is possible that some document has arrived," commented the director of the Vatican Press Office.

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