Two senior Catholic prelates, Cardinal John Njue of Kenya and Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Spain, will not participate in the upcoming papal conclave due to health complications, their respective archdioceses confirmed on Wednesday.
The Archdiocese of Valencia informed ACI Prensa that Cardinal Cañizares, 79, is unable to travel to Rome for health reasons. Similarly, the Archdiocese of Nairobi confirmed with ACI Africa that Cardinal Njue, also 79, will not attend the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis.
The Holy See had earlier noted that two cardinal electors would be absent from the conclave but withheld their identities. The absence of Njue and Cañizares reduces the number of voting cardinals to 133, with at least 89 votes required to elect the new pope.
Cardinal Cañizares, a former prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, was created a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. He served as Archbishop of Valencia until his retirement in 2022.
Cardinal Njue, Kenya’s second cardinal in history, was created a cardinal in 2007. He has held multiple roles within the Kenyan Church, including Archbishop of Nairobi and president of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Though both cardinals are still eligible by age to vote in a conclave, their absence highlights the challenges facing aging Church leadership. The election of the next pope is expected to begin soon as the Church prepares for a transition in leadership.
