Islamic State

The Latest

Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro arrives at the Jan. 29, 2024, funeral of Tuncer Murat Cihan, 52, who was murdered during Sunday Mass at Santa Maria Italian Church on Jan. 28 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Victim of Istanbul attack was a Muslim who often went to Catholic Mass

Jan 31, 2024

By Courtney Mares

The sole victim of Sunday’s attack on a Catholic church in Istanbul was a Muslim man who regularly attended Mass,... Read more

Turkish police stand guard outside the scene of an armed attack at a Catholic church in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 28, 2024.

Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on Catholic church in Istanbul

Jan 29, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Two suspects described as members of the Islamic State group have been arrested following the shooting at Santa Maria Church... Read more

Military personnel stand guard at the entrance of a gymnasium while police investigators (background) look for evidence after a bomb attack at Mindanao State University in Marawi in the southern Philippines on Dec. 3, 2023.

Pope Francis prays for victims of bombing of Catholic Mass in the Philippines

Dec 4, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Dec. 3 blast in a university gymnasium. Read more

At least 11 people were killed Sept. 15, 2023, after members of the Islamic State attacked a village in Mozambique and opened fire on Christians after hand-picking them from Muslims, the Catholic pontifical and charity foundation Aid to the Church in Need International reported.

11 killed as Islamist jihadists reportedly target Christians in Mozambican village

Sep 20, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

After separating the Christians from the Muslims, “they opened fire on the Christians,” a Sept. 18 Aid to the Church... Read more

Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako

Iraq’s president revokes recognition of Catholic leader 

Jul 17, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

Cardinal Louis Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, announced Saturday that he is withdrawing from his seat in Baghdad. Read more

The Vulnerable People Project, a Catholic charity based in the United States, is helping 20 teenage Afghan girls build a new life after an ISIS terrorist attack on Sept. 30, 2022, left them seriously injured and in dire need of medical treatment.

Catholic charity rescues 20 Afghan girls after ISIS attack

Mar 28, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

The Vulnerable People Project, a Catholic charity based in the United States, is helping 20 teenage Afghan girls build a... Read more

A priest surveys the damage caused by ISIS at a Catholic Church in Karamles, Iraq.

Vatican’s ambassador during Iraq war: Under Saddam Hussein ‘the Church was respected’

Mar 21, 2023

By Zelda Caldwell

The papal nuncio in Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion 20 years ago said Christians in Iraq were... Read more

Archbishop Jacques Mourad, the new Syrian Catholic archbishop of Homs, Syria.

Syrian Catholic monk once kidnapped by ISIS consecrated archbishop

Mar 6, 2023

By Walter Sánchez Silva

Father Jacques Mourad was consecrated as the new archbishop of Homs, Syria. Read more

Map of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Islamic State bombs church service in Congo

Jan 16, 2023

By Courtney Mares

At least 10 people were killed and more than three dozen injured in the terrorist attack on a church in... Read more

Pope Francis met Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege on Dec. 9, 2022.

Pope Francis meets Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege ahead of Congo trip

Dec 9, 2022

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis met Friday with Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, a Congolese physician known for his work treating victims... Read more

Father Ragheed Ganni

A Priest and Martyr for the Faith: The cause for the beatification of Father Ragheed Ganni

Aug 19, 2022

By Rody Sher

It has been fifteen years since the martyrdom of Father Ragheed Ganni, the Chaldean priest of the Holy Spirit parish... Read more

Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, presides over a funeral liturgy for victims of the Dec. 11, 2016 bomb attack on his cathedral.

Who are the Coptic Christians? Tragic church fire a blow to a persecuted group

Aug 15, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

Egypt’s Christian minority has long been regarded as a second-class group among the Muslim majority populace, and in recent years... Read more

Fr. Jacques Hamel.

Six years after grisly murder, France remembers Father Jacques Hamel

Jul 26, 2022

By Kevin J. Jones

Hamel was killed at the church on July 26, 2016, by supporters of the Islamic State group as he finished... Read more

St. Francis Xavier Owo Parish.

Nigeria church massacre: ISIS affiliate group suspected as perpetrators, government official says

Jun 9, 2022

By Jonah McKeown

A Nigerian government official has laid blame on an Islamic militant group for the deadly church shooting on Pentecost that... Read more

The Catholic University of Erbil in Ankawa, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need.

Catholic charity sees ‘signs of hope’ for Iraq’s beleaguered Christians

May 10, 2022

By CNA Staff

‘Pope Francis’ visit, I think, really has given them hope,’ said Aid to the Church in Need’s Regina Lynch. Read more

Fr. Jacques Hamel.

Father Jacques Hamel murder: Catholic archbishop says ‘justice is done’ as 4 are convicted

Mar 10, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus

Three of the defendants reportedly asked for forgiveness during the trial. Read more

Fr. Jacques Hamel, who was killed by Islamic State terrorists while saying Mass, July 26, 2016.

Trial begins in France over murder of Fr Jacques Hamel

Feb 14, 2022

By Hannah Brockhaus

A trial began in Paris on Monday for four people charged with conspiring in the murder of Father Jacques Hamel,... Read more

March 26, 2021: The restored image of the Virgin Mary destroyed by ISIS returned to its original parish in Iraq.

Nobel Peace Prize nominee urges Biden to protect Iraqi Christians

Sep 1, 2021

By Christine Rousselle

After the last U.S. forces left Afghanistan this week, an interfaith coalition implored President Joe Biden to keep American troops... Read more

French President Emmanuel Macron tours Our Lady of the Hour Church in Mosul, Iraq, Aug. 29, 2021.

French president visits Catholic church in Iraq damaged by ISIS

Aug 31, 2021

By Courtney Mares

Emmanuel Macron toured Our Lady of the Hour Church in Mosul. Read more

Fr. Jacques Hamel.

Fr. Jacques Hamel: Catholic priest honored 5 years after he was killed at Mass in terrorist attack

Jul 26, 2021

By CNA Staff

Islamic State supporters killed the French priest on July 26, 2016. Read more