Born in Ghana in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1975, Cardinal Peter Turkson holds a distinguished place in the College of Cardinals.
He is the fourth of ten siblings in a family that performed carpentry and sold vegetables.
An expert in Sacred Scripture and the first cardinal from Ghana, he received his red hat from Pope John Paul II in 2003.
In 2013, after the resignation of Benedict XVI, he was considered a contender to become pope. With the election of Pope Francis, he has continued to hold leadership positions in the Vatican, particularly related to his interest in caring for the planet.
CARD. PETER TURKSON
Prefect, Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development
“Six years after the encyclical Laudato si’, it is good to think about the world we are leaving to our children, to future generations. The pandemic has made us reflect but the cry of the earth and the poor is becoming increasingly more urgent and heartbreaking.”
In 2009, Benedict XVI brought him to Rome to put him in charge of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
It was a strategic department that was remodeled and expanded at the end of 2016 by Pope Francis, becoming the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Cardinal Turkson has been its first and only prefect.
BGA
TR: JM
