Middle East - Africa News

Members of the Catholic Theological Association of Nigeria (CATHAN) pledged to uphold the “theological and pastoral legacy” of the late Pope Francis, in a statement issued during their 39th annual conference and 40th anniversary commemoration.

Catholic theologians in Nigeria pledge to uphold Pope Francis’ legacy with ‘renewed zeal’

May 1, 2025

By Nicholas Waigwa

Members of the Catholic Theological Association of Nigeria have pledged to uphold the “theological and pastoral legacy” of the late... Read more

Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb sign the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together in 2019 .

Pope Francis and the Islamic world: A legacy of dialogue and fraternity

Apr 26, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

How did Pope Francis view Islam and Muslim peoples during his time as pope? What is the position of the... Read more

Pope Francis arrives in Uganda.

Pope Francis and Africa: The many highs and a moment of misgiving

Apr 25, 2025

By ACI Africa

Pope Francis’ more than 12-year pontificate deeply resonated with the people of God in Africa, with one exception related to... Read more

A memorial for Pope Francis is set up at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral of the Coptic Catholics in Qusiya, Egypt.

‘Brother in humanity’: Church leaders in Middle East pay tribute to Pope Francis

Apr 22, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

Pope Francis is being remembered in the Middle East with tears, prayers, and gratitude. Read more

Iman Hijaze and her mother, Hadidza, at St. Joseph’s House.

How a stolen rosary led one young woman to the Catholic Church

Apr 20, 2025

By Alexey Gotovskiy

Iman Hijaze was raised in a culturally Shiite Muslim household and considered herself an atheist until she picked up a... Read more

The custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, anoints the statue of Jesus on the Stone of Anointing during the ceremony known as the “funeral procession” on Good Friday night 2024. According to the tradition and the Status Quo, on the evening of Good Friday — both Catholic and Orthodox — the rite of preparing Jesus’ body for burial is reenacted on this stone during the so-called “funeral procession.”

Amid ongoing war and blockades, Holy Land Christians insist on celebrating Easter

Apr 19, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

This year’s Easter celebrations in the Holy Land are expected to unfold under a complex and emotional landscape as war... Read more

A Greek Orthodox monk pours oil into the lamps in front of the edicule of the Holy Sepulcher, which contains the venerated tomb. The three communities responsible for the Holy Sepulcher are the Greek Orthodox, the Latin Catholic, and the Armenian. Every movement and schedule inside the basilica is governed by the Status Quo.

PHOTOS: Archaeologists uncover early use of site beneath Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

Apr 18, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

Archaeological excavations launched in 2022 in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem have yielded significant data on the... Read more

Beds sit amid the debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City on April 13, 2025.

Church leaders condemn Israeli military Palm Sunday strikes on Anglican hospital in Gaza

Apr 15, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital in Gaza, condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms” in... Read more

The coordinator of the Commission for Justice and Peace in Cameroon’s Diocese of Kumbo said that traffickers, who are now capitalizing on the region’s crises, “keep changing their strategies.”

Cameroon diocese issues ‘urgent alert’ on human trafficking surge amid regional violence

Apr 15, 2025

By Silas Isenjia

The Justice and Peace Commission of Kumbo Diocese in Cameroon has issued an “urgent alert” on a surge of human... Read more

Thousands celebrate the beginning of Holy Week on April 13, 2025, with a Palm Sunday procession in Qaraqosh, Iraq.

PHOTOS: Nearly 20,000 celebrate Palm Sunday in Iraq’s ‘City of Hosanna’

Apr 14, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

Thousands of Christians gathered in Qaraqosh, Iraq, to welcome Christ as king and prince of peace as Holy Week began... Read more

“No one can separate us from our love for Jerusalem, just as no one can separate us from the love of Christ,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025.

In Holy Land on Palm Sunday, cardinal calls Christians to ‘hope against all hope’

Apr 14, 2025

By Hannah Brockhaus

On Palm Sunday, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, called on Christians in the Holy Land to “hope... Read more

At least 33 people have been reported dead and thousands displaced following April 5-6, 2025, flooding that cut access to over half of the Congolese capital of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Congolese bishops express ‘spiritual closeness’ with victims of deadly floods in Kinshasa

Apr 13, 2025

By Jude Atemanke

Bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo expressed their solidarity with victims of the recent floods and landslides that struck... Read more

The main entrance to the Armenian Patriarchate and the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem.

Armenian Patriarchate takes legal action to halt Jerusalem’s tax foreclosure

Apr 13, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem have issued a statement expressing “great concern” and voicing their solidarity... Read more

The Missionaries of Charity convent located on the compound of Holy Family Parish, the only Catholic church in Gaza, was damaged by rocket fire on Dec. 16, 2023.

Priest of only Catholic parish in Gaza calls for peace, says Gaza is ‘a prison’

Apr 9, 2025

By Kate Quiñones

Father Gabriel Romanelli is the pastor of Holy Family Parish in Gaza, which has become a refuge for the Christian... 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

Father Isaac Agabi, a parish priest in Nigeria’s Diocese of Auchi, was abducted and tortured in 2020 and still suffers physical and psyschoigcal effects of his ordeal.

Nigerian priest recounts abductee ordeal, attributes escape to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Apr 4, 2025

By Abah Anthony John

Father Isaac Agabi recounted his ordeal at the hands of kidnappers and recommended that major seminaries in Nigeria consider teaching... Read more

Participants in the three-day planned peaceful protests in Nigeria’s Diocese of Auchi from March 25–27, 2025, emphasized the need for improved security and called for an end to abductions targeting the clergy that have resulted in deaths of some of the abductees.

3-day peaceful protests in Nigerian diocese call for end to abductions, killings

Apr 3, 2025

By Abah Anthony John

A group of protesters in Nigeria called for the enforcement of an anti-grazing law to curb the activities of armed... Read more

The Association of Pilgrimages in Lebanon (APL) unveils its plans for Caminos Lebanon, an innovative project designed to revitalize Christian religious tourism through a unique pilgrimage experience inspired by the renowned Camino de Santiago in Spain, on March 28, 2025.

Lebanon will soon have its own ‘camino,’ once traveled by Christ and the Romans

Mar 30, 2025

By Marguerita Kallassy

The Caminos Lebanon project seeks to highlight Lebanon’s rich religious heritage by creating a comprehensive network of pilgrimage trails. Read more

Speakers present at the briefing presenting the report “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” by the Rossing Center on March 27, 2025. From left to right: Hana Bendcowsky, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations at the Rossing Center; Bernard Sabella, a retired professor of sociology; Federica Sasso (Rossing Center)), moderator, Hussam Elias, executive director of the project; and Jesuit Father David Neuhaus.

Christian communities in Israel face growing hostility, annual report reveals

Mar 29, 2025

By Marinella Bandini

On March 27, in Jerusalem, the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue presented findings from its annual report, “Attacks on... Read more

Bishop Christian Carlassare (center), President Salva Kiir (left), and Dr. Riek Machar (right).

Bishop calls for peace in South Sudan as country’s first vice president reportedly arrested

Mar 29, 2025

By ACI Africa

Amid rising tensions in Africa’s youngest country and reports that the country’s first vice president was arrested, Bishop Christian Carlassare... Read more

Latest news

Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera is secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Vatican secretary for protection of minors: ‘Harming a victim is harming the image of God’

Smoke from incense drifts in the air at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California, where the 2025 National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concluded on June 22, 2025,

National Eucharistic Pilgrimage concludes with Corpus Christi Mass in LA

Pope Leo XIV leads a eucharistic procession in Rome on June 22, 2025, for the feast of Corpus Christi .

Christ is God’s answer to humanity’s hunger, Pope Leo XIV affirms on Corpus Christi

Pope Leo XIV speaks to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus on June 22, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV after U.S. bombings in Iran: ‘Humanity cries out and pleads for peace’

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

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From heartache to hope: One woman’s mission to match Catholics for marriage

A life-sized statue of Christ is displayed at the site of the Stations of the Cross garden in Maysville, Kentucky, Tuesday, June 3, 2025.

Kentucky political leader builds life-sized Stations of the Cross garden

Pope Leo XIV tells political leaders that “natural law, which is universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs, constitutes the compass by which to take our bearings in legislating and acting” at the Jubilee of Governments on June 21, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV tells politicians that AI should serve human beings, not replace them

Venerable Enrique Shaw.

Argentine businessman Enrique Shaw one step closer to beatification

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New study reveals the rosary rivals modern meditation for mental health benefits 

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