Middle East - Africa News

Father Bashar Fawadleh, Latin rite pastor of Taybeh, with children from his community.

Christian village in Palestine holding out under attacks by Israeli settlers

Jul 11, 2025

By Andrés Henríquez

The small, entirely Christian village of Taybeh is suffering severe attacks by Israeli settlers. Read more

Bishop John Kiplimo Lelei, who has been serving as an uuxiliary bishop of the Eldoret diocese in Kenya, has been appointed the first bishop of the new Kapsabet Diocese.

New diocese erected in Kenya, pope appoints its first bishop 

Jul 11, 2025

By Silas Isenjia

Pope Leo XIV has erected a new Catholic diocese in Kenya — the Diocese of Kapsabet — and appointed Bishop... Read more

Malawi is preparing for its first Eucharistic Congress. Other countries in Africa have hosted such congresses —Madagascar  held its third National Eucharistic Congress Aug. 23-26, 2024,

Malawi getting ready for first-ever Eucharistic Congress 

Jul 11, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

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

Archbishop Benjamin Phiri of Zambia’s Archdiocese of Ndola.

Archbishop in Zambia calls for responsible, ethical journalism ahead of 2026 elections

Jul 6, 2025

By Nicholas Waigwa

In his homily on Sunday, June 29, the solemnity of Apostles Peter and Paul, Archbishop Benjamin Phiri called for responsible... Read more

The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in the Diocese of Pemba, Mozambique.

Armed robbers attack religious sisters’ home for girls in Mozambique

Jul 5, 2025

By Sabrine Amboka

A report from Aid to the Church in Need describes the experience of an attack on the Mercedarian Sisters of... Read more

People gather at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Family on Palm Sunday in al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

UN delegation makes surprise visit to Catholic parish in Gaza

Jul 2, 2025

By Junno Arocho Esteves

A United Nations delegation made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Holy Family Parish, the only Latin-rite Catholic Church in... 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

The view of the West Bank and Israel from Mount Nebo.

Priest warns: Christian town in Holy Land no longer safe amid settler attacks

Jun 26, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

The Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh, the last remaining town in the West Bank inhabited entirely by Christians, faces ongoing... Read more

Father Francesco Ielpo, a Franciscan friar, on June 24, 2025, was appointed the new custos of the Holy Land and guardian of Mount Zion. Previously, since 2022, he was president of the Holy Land Foundation in addition to holding other organizational roles across Italian Franciscan provinces.

Pope Leo XIV approves new custos of the Holy Land amid regional crisis

Jun 25, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

Father Francesco Ielpo, a member of the Order of Friars Minor, has been named the new custos of the Holy... 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

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, in an interview with ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, emphasized that the Catholic Church in the Holy Land must remain “open”: “The Church must remain open and accessible to all. This is absolutely essential. Everyone must be able to reach us, we must be a point of connection for everyone.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa in the Holy Land: ‘The Church must be a point of connection for everyone’

Jun 24, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

In the midst of ongoing war and an escalation of violence in the Middle East, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem,... Read more

An attack on Mar Elias Church in Al-Duwaileh, Damascus, by a suicide bomber reportedly killed 22 and injured 59 people on June 22, 2025.

Church leaders react to deadly attack on Mar Elias church in Damascus

Jun 23, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

In Syria, church leaders condemned Sunday’s terrorist act against worshippers in Damascus that resulted in 22 dead and almost 60... Read more

Despite being Yazidi, a religious minority that has suffered persecution in Iraq, Wael Jejo Khdeida, along with his wife, tends to Mar Odisho Church in northern Iraq without pay and treats it as sacred.

‘The church comes first’: A Yazidi family’s promise to protect a Christian sacred site

Jun 22, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

Thanks to the devotion of a local Yazidi family, the doors of Mar Odisho Church remain open in the northern... Read more

The Catholic bishops in Nigeria’s Onitsha ecclesiastical province have condemned recent attacks in Benue state that reportedly resulted in the death of some 200 people and called for fasting and prayer in honor of the victims.

Nigeria bishops call for prayer, fasting for Benue attack victims

Jun 20, 2025

By Jude Atemanke

In a statement issued June 18, the Nigerian bishops denounced the “almost daily bloodshed” in the West African nation, including... Read more

Cameron Mumford on pilgrimage in Jerusalem.

A Catholic pilgrim’s harrowing escape from the Holy Land as Iranian missiles lit up the sky

Jun 19, 2025

By Courtney Mares

Cameron Mumford went to pray at Calvary in Jerusalem. Hours later, Iranian missiles lit up the sky. Read more

Delegates at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 17, 2025.

Kenya hosts landmark summit on religious freedom in Africa

Jun 18, 2025

By Jude Atemanke

Regional and global experts as well as proponents of religious freedom gathered June 17 for the first International Religious Freedom... Read more

Over 450 boys and girls received their first holy Communion during liturgies held over the past month in various churches of the town of Qaraqosh, Iraq.

Over 450 children celebrate first holy Communion this month in Qaraqosh, Iraq

Jun 18, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

Archbishop Benedictus Hanno stressed that the celebrations are “a great joy for our Church and a living testimony to the... Read more

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Raï.

Lebanese cardinal urges Christians not to leave Middle East

Jun 16, 2025

By Andrés Henríquez

Cardinal Bechara Boutros Raï, patriarch of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, lamented the decline of the Christian population in the... Read more

Over 200 Christians were murdered by Islamist militants in Nigeria on June, 13, 2025.

Up to 200 displaced Nigerian Christians killed in ‘worst’ attack yet

Jun 16, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

Islamist militants killed up to 200 Nigerian Christians on Friday in what international aid organizations are calling the “worst killing... Read more

St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.

Monks close doors of St. Catherine’s Monastery as battle with Egypt government continues

Jun 6, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

The future of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula remains a source of controversy with tensions rising after a... Read more