Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso may be barred from participating in the upcoming papal conclave due to uncertainty surrounding his actual age.
At the heart of the confusion is whether the cardinal was born on January 24, 1945 — making him 80 and ineligible to vote — or on December 31 of the same year, which would leave him just within the voting age limit of 79. Under Vatican rules, only cardinals under 80 are allowed to vote in a papal conclave set to start on Wednesday.
If the cardinal took part in the conclave and it later turned out that he was too old to participate, it could render the result void.
Cardinal Ouédraogo is regarded as a conservative, which means he could be important for the traditionalist factions looking to roll back Pope Francis’ stances on issues such as blessing same-sex unions.
In last year’s Vatican yearbook, the cardinal’s date of birth is listed as January 24, 1945, meaning that he is now over 80.
But in the latest official Vatican directory, his date of birth is listed as December 31, 1945, the Telegraph reports.
That adjustment would make him 79 years old, just within the age limit to participate in a papal conclave.
The change has raised eyebrows. An Italian newspaper quipped that the cardinal had ‘found the secret to stopping time,’ while another ran the headline: ‘The strange case of the cardinal who has become a year younger so that he can enter the conclave.’
The cardinal, who hails from a rural part of Burkina Faso, has offered a simple explanation.
Addressing the confusion over his age: ‘In my village, there were neither hospitals nor schools. I was born at home and was not given a birthdate.’