Syria

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Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X Yazigi of Antioch and All the East (right) receives Ahmad al-Shar’a, the head of Syria’s transitional administration, on Oct. 26, 2025, at the patriarchal residence in Damascus.

Syrian transitional president visits Greek Orthodox patriarch in Damascus

Oct 28, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

Al-Shar’a was accompanied by Maher al-Shar’a, secretary-general of the presidency, and Maher Marwan Idlibi, governor of Damascus, at the Oct.... Read more

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Bomb squad called after Christian nonprofit in Ireland receives possible anthrax

Sep 20, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed. Read more

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Death of Melkite Catholic in Syrian prison sparks debate over security abuses

Sep 14, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

The death of Milad Farakh, a member of the Melkite Greek Catholic community from the village of Kafra in Syria’s... Read more

Father Rony Salim, chancellor of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul, shared with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, that the bishop has called Qaraqosh the “City of Hosanna” due to its uniquely spirited celebration marked by hymns, prayers, and massive crowds of worshippers.

Security breakdown in Syria: Syriac Catholic archpriest attacked

Sep 5, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed. Read more

Syrian Minister of Culture Mohammed Saleh with Islamic chanter Al-Mu’tasim Billah Al-Assali inside St. Ananias Orthodix Church in Damascus, Syria. Billah Al-Assali performed an Islamic hymn with lyrics that directly contradict Christian beliefs.

Syrian minister of culture sparks controversy with Islamic chant in Orthodox church

Aug 21, 2025

By Zoe Romanowsky

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed. Read more

Thousands fill St. Peter’s Square for the Jubilee of Youth welcome Mass on July 29, 2025, at the Vatican.

2 Syrian girls share ‘moving testimony’ at Jubilee of Youth event

Aug 1, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news from the past week that you might have missed. Read more

The faithful take part in the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of the Olive Church in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security and unease

Jun 30, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

Divine Liturgies were celebrated on Sunday, June 30, in Damascus, Syria — albeit with significantly lower attendance due to a... Read more

Mourners gather at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa, Damascus, on June 24, 2025, around white caskets of some of the worshippers who lost their lives in a terrorist attack at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria’s capital on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Solemn farewell for victims of Damascus church bombing amid anger at government silence

Jun 25, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

Churches across Syria held funeral services for the victims of the suicide bombing that targeted St. Elias Church in the... Read more

Pope Leo XIV waves to those gathered for Mass on the solemnity of Corpus Christi on Sunday, June 22, 2025, in Rome.

Pope Leo XIV ‘deeply saddened’ by Islamist attack on a church in Damascus

Jun 24, 2025

By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú

On Sunday, June 22, eyewitnesses reported that two armed men stormed the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias in Douailah... Read more

Meetings took place this week between the head of the transitional phase in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and U.S. President Donald Trump, in the presence of the Saudi Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.

U.S. lifts sanctions on Syria, renewing hope for Christians and boosting national economy

May 15, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

This week’s announcement by President Donald Trump that the U.S. would fully lift its sanctions on Syria triggered hope in... Read more

A damaged bus and vehicles after a Russian missile strike on Sumy, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 13, 2025.

Palm Sunday bombing in Ukraine claims 34 victims, including 15 children

Apr 18, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Here is a roundup of Catholic world news that you might have missed this week. Read more

Deacon Johnny Al-Daoud celebrates his release from captivity in Syria on March 2, 2025, with family and friends.

Catholic deacon shares ordeal of spending decade of captivity in Syria prison

Apr 5, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

On March 2, without any notice, Johnny Fouad Dawoud, a deacon in the Syriac Catholic Church, was released from a... Read more

Rody Sher, editor-in-chief of ACI MENA, speaks on the second anniversary of ACI MENA in 2024 at the Catholic University in Erbil, Iraq, where the agency is based. This year marks three years since ACI MENA began its mssion to report on the Church and the lives of Christians in the Middle East.

ACI MENA celebrates 3 years of amplifying voices of Christians in the Middle East

Mar 25, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

A service of EWTN News, ACI MENA was established in 2022 and currently operates from the Catholic University in Erbil,... Read more

Members of security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government hold up their firearms as they stand by the Mediterranean sea coast in Syria’s western city of Latakia on March 9, 2025. Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called for national unity and peace on March 9 amid growing international backlash following the killing of civilians along the country’s coast in the worst violence since the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad in the heartland of the Alawite minority, to which the latter belongs.

Syrian patriarchs condemn massacres as sectarian violence escalates on Syria’s coast

Mar 11, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

In a joint statement issued March 8, the patriarchs of Syria condemned acts that threaten civil peace and denounced the... Read more

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti presides over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Paul’s Shrine in Tabbaleh, Damascus, on Jan. 25, 2025.

Vatican’s first envoy to postwar Syria sees a nation with ‘a desire for life’

Jan 29, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

The occasion marked the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the feast of the Conversion of... Read more

Father Ibrahim Faltas, vice custodian of the Holy Land, meets with Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the head of Syria’s new administration, in Damascus.

Syria’s Christians voice relief, seek further security guarantees after political shift

Jan 13, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

Christians in Syria continue to seek more concrete guarantees, although opinions differ on what form these guarantees should take. Read more

The heads of Churches and their representatives in Syria meet the de facto leader.

Hopes rise for Christians as Church leaders meet new Syria leader

Jan 4, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

As Syria navigates a transitional phase, questions abound regarding the Church’s role in shaping the new Syrian nation. Has the... Read more

The Syrian town of Maaloula.

Safety concerns escalate for Christians in historic Syrian town

Dec 31, 2024

By Souhail Lawand

Christians in Maaloula in western Syria have been living with an intensifying fear for their safety, exacerbated by a recent... Read more

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, speaks with EWTN News during an interview at the Vatican on Dec. 11, 2024.

Christians in Gaza, Syria ‘need everything,’ Vatican cardinal says

Dec 23, 2024

By CNA Staff

“They need everything and we cannot give anything,” Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti told EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser in a... Read more

Holy Mass is celebrated in Mariamite Greek Melkite Catholic Cathedral, Damascus, on Dec. 15, 2024.

One week after regime change, Syrian church bells ring out in hope

Dec 17, 2024

By Souheil Lawand

This past Sunday, churches in Syria witnessed a remarkable surge in attendees across cities and towns as people gathered to... Read more

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Andre Mahanna, a former Maronite Catholic priest.

Former Maronite priest still presenting himself as a cleric, Denver Archdiocese warns

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Leo XIV eliminates commission for donations to Holy See created by Pope Francis

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United States Conference of Catholic Bishops headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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The Ten Commandments outside the Texas capitol.

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Bishop Michael Fisher outside the meeting hall during the 2019 USCCB General Assembly, June 12, 2019.

Buffalo bishop will allow faithful to meet at parishes to oppose closures, mergers

St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

Vatican commission rejects female diaconate, although without a ‘definitive judgment’

Pope Francis receives the bishops of England and Wales for their ad limina visit at the Vatican, Sept. 28, 2018.

Did leak in England suggest broader shift in Vatican policy on the Latin Mass?

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Archbishop Broglio: Drug cartels must be stopped, but not with ‘violence outside the law’

Poster for the St. John of the Cross 2026 Jubilee.

Discalced Carmelites prepare to celebrate jubilee year of St. John of the Cross

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Dec 05
St. Gerald, Bishop of Mayo
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