ROME (OSV News) ─ Of the 135 cardinals eligible to enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to elect the next pope, one absence has sparked confusion, controversy and no small amount of speculation, almost as if it were a plot point of the movie "Conclave."
Kenyan Cardinal John Njue, 79, will not take part in the election of the 267th pope, despite technically being eligible to vote. The reason? That depends on whom you ask.
In an interview published May 5 by The Daily Nation, a leading Kenyan daily, Cardinal Njue offered a surprising explanation for his absence: "Those who go there for the election are usually sent official invites, and that has not happened on my part," he said. "The fact is that I have not been invited."
The comment set off a flurry of headlines and online chatter in Kenya, adding yet another twist to the story of a cardinal who has, over the years, been repeatedly declared dead on social media -- wrongly, of course.
To complicate matters further, official Vatican records have quietly edited his age. For years, Cardinal Njue was listed as born in 1944, which would have made him ineligible to vote in this conclave. But the 2024 edition of the Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican’s official yearbook, now records his birthday as January 1, 1946 -- just young enough to participate. That revision was first reported in Italian media in 2024.
In Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Vatican journalist Paolo Rodari summed it up this way: "An absence announced. ... The Kenyan prelate, several times declared dead on social media, was last seen on April 25 at a Mass in memory of Pope Francis. But he will not be able to make the trip to Rome."
A day after Cardinal Njue's remarks were published, the archdiocese issued an official statement from Archbishop Philip Anyolo, aiming to clear the air. According to the May 6 press release, Cardinal Njue was invited through the apostolic nunciature in Kenya, and the archbishop had to decline due to health reasons.
"In response to various inquiries concerning whether His Eminence John Cardinal Njue, will be participating in the forthcoming conclave," Archbishop Anyolo wrote, "I hereby confirm that although His Eminence is eligible to participate and was officially invited to through the Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya," the apostolic nuncio, in concurrence with the office of the archbishop of Nairobi, "duly communicated the competent office of the Holy See that, owing to his current health condition, His Eminence John Cardinal Njue will be unable to travel to Rome and take part in the Conclave," the statement read.
The statement from the archbishop makes it clear that it was he, Archbishop Anyolo, who along with the papal representative in the country, Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria van Megen, declined the invitation on behalf of the cardinal.
"Cardinal electors can participate 'de iure' (by law), they don’t need an invitation to be present," said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office. "The dean of the college of cardinals might check if the cardinal is coming, and I believe this was the case with the cardinal from Kenya."
Come May 7, 133 cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel -- all the members of the college of cardinals who are under the age of 80, minus Cardinal Njue and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, who has himself confirmed he would not be coming to Rome.
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Ines San Martin writes for OSV News from Rome. She is vice president of communications at the Pontifical Mission Societies USA.
