Papabile of the day: Cardinal Ambongo’s blend of tradition and reform

John L Allen Jr/ Crux• April 27, 2025

When Pope Francis gave the green light for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to issue its controversial 2024 declaration Fiducia Supplicans, authorising the blessing of persons in same-sex unions, the aim was presumably to fill a pastoral void and reach out to a constituency often alienated from the Catholic Church.

Under the heading of unintended consequences, however, one clear outcome of the declaration was the emergence of a new papal candidate: 65-year-old Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who also serves as the elected leader of the African bishops as president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

A headline at the time in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, atop a piece by veteran Vatican correspondent Franca Giansoldati, said it all: “The profile of Cardinal Ambongo advances among the future papabili: He led the African blockade of the blessing of gay couples.”

The reference was to the fact that Ambongo was the prime mover behind a statement from SECAM which declared Fiducia Supplicans a dead letter on the continent. African prelates, it said, “do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples because, in our context, this would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities.”

It marked the first time that the bishops of an entire continent had said a Vatican edict would not be applied in their territory. Given how difficult it generally is to get an unwieldy body of bishops to agree on anything, the swift and unified response from SECAM was a testament to Ambongo’s leadership.

Moreover, the SECAM statement was also notable for the way it was developed in concert with the pope and his top advisers.

Ambongo recounted the story in a conversation with a French Catholic blog. After gathering responses from the African bishops, he flew to Rome to present them to the pope. Francis asked him to work with Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Ambongo did, consulting the pontiff throughout, so that when the SECAM statement was issued, it carried a de facto seal of papal approval.

In other words, Ambongo found a way for the Africans to have their cassava and eat it too – opposing the pope, at least indirectly, but without appearing disloyal. It is one of the most difficult needles to thread in Catholic life, and the skilful manner in which Ambongo achieved it drew attention.

Born in Boto, Congo, in 1960, Ambongo felt called to the priesthood and joined the Capuchin Franciscans, taking his final vows in 1987. He was later sent to study moral theology at the prestigious Alphonsian Academy in Rome, run by the Redemptorists, where he learned Italian – almost a sine qua non for a potential pope.

In the years that followed, he worked in a parish, taught in seminaries, and held various leadership roles within the Capuchins until he was appointed bishop in 2004 at the age of 44.

In 2016, Ambongo became Archbishop of Mbandaka-Bikoro and, like his mentor, the late Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, was soon drawn into the turbulence of Congolese politics. When then-President Joseph Kabila delayed elections in 2016 to remain in power, Ambongo became a leading figure in the pro-democracy opposition and helped negotiate the St Sylvester Framework Agreement, which paved the way for elections in 2018.

Ambongo certainly does not lack boldness. His outspoken environmental advocacy – criticising both multinational oil and mining companies and local politicians who serve their interests – has led to death threats; at one point, he described himself as “a person in danger in Congo.”

He clearly enjoyed the favour of Pope Francis, having been appointed to the pontiff’s Council of Cardinals in 2020, succeeding Monsengwo, and confirmed in that role in 2023. He also hosted a successful papal visit to Congo in 2023. Yet, as the Fiducia controversy demonstrated, he is also willing to dissent from the chorus of approval that typically surrounds any pope when he believes a matter of principle is at stake.

The case for Ambongo?

He embodies a distinctive blend of continuity and change with regard to the Pope Francis legacy – sustaining his outreach to the peripheries and his strong social witness, but adopting a more cautious and traditional stance on contentious doctrinal issues.

His résumé speaks of gravitas – a statesman in national politics, a continental leader of bishops, and a papal adviser with insider knowledge of Vatican reform.

Moreover, as a Capuchin, Ambongo has a reputation as a committed pastor, close to the people and attuned to the everyday struggles of the faithful. He appears to genuinely enjoy being among them – a desirable quality in a pope.

The case against?

Ambongo is not widely known outside Africa, so many cardinals’ impressions are likely shaped more by media reports and second-hand accounts than by personal acquaintance. Some may question whether his strong criticism of declining moral standards in the West could make him a difficult figure in more secularised regions, potentially appearing out of touch.

Americans might also be slightly uneasy about his limited English, although they accepted a similar situation with Francis.

One thing is certain: should Ambongo emerge from the conclave wearing white, the arrival of a “black pope” would electrify global opinion, granting him a vast cultural platform. The question would then be how he chooses to use it.

(Photo by HARDY BOPE/AFP via Getty Images)