The death of the local ordinary for the Diocese of Wa in Ghana occurred days after he was released from hospital in Rome and he reportedly expressed his gratitude to all who accompanied him with prayers.
In a statement released on November 22, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Wa said: “I wish to inform you that, last Friday, November 18, 2022, His Eminence, Cardinal Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr, Bishop of Wa , was discharged from the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic/University Hospital where he had been transferred on Saturday, October 15, 2022.”
Father Cornelius Naah Bayirinoba said the cardinal was staying at the general house of his religious order in Rome.
The cardinal is in Rome “to rest and regain strength,” said Fr. Bayirinoba said, adding: “His Eminence of him needs follow-up checks.”
“Cardinal Richard Kuusa Baawobr has asked me to thank each one of you for your prayers, good wishes and all your support. He takes nothing for granted and assures us of his closeness in prayer,” said the Vicar General of the Diocese of Wa.
Cardinal Baawobr was among the 21 Pope Francis named on May 29 and among the 20 he created during the August 27 consistory.
The Ghanaian-born Cardinal missed the Aug. 27 consistory due to a heart problem. On the day of the Consistory he was admitted to the Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome.
The absence of Cardinal Baawobr from the Consistory that the Holy Father presided over in Saint Peter’s Basilica did not prevent him from being elevated to the College of Cardinals. At the end of his homily during the Consistory, Pope Francis asked people to pray for Cardinal Baawobr.
The cardinal who has been in charge of the diocese of Wa in Ghana since May 2016 was elected president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) on July 30 at the end of the 19th Plenary Assembly of the continental symposium that was held in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.
Before being named bishop in February 2016, the leader of the Catholic Church served as the first Assistant General to the Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa for a period of six years; in May 2010 he was elected the first African Superior General of the Catholic Congregation founded in 1868.
