Middle East - Africa News

Duha Sabah Abdullah, the mother of David Abdullah, who was killed when ISIS shelled the Catholic city of Qaraqosh in Aug 6, 2014, meeting Pope Francis in March, 2021 in Iraq.

Remembering the night the ‘city of Christians’ fell to ISIS in Iraq

Aug 6, 2023

By ACI MENA, Georgena Hababba

Aug. 6 marks the ninth anniversary of the fall of Qaraqosh, a city that was almost entirely Catholic and where... Read more

Prayer gathering at Mar Elias Monastery (Stella Maris) in Haifa, Israel.

Israeli extremists attempt to storm Catholic church and monastery

Jul 31, 2023

By Elias Kattar

In an effort by the church to deter any future attacks, work began today to install an iron fence around... Read more

Image from the Shrine of St. Charbel.

The Lebanese saint who unites Christians and Muslims

Jul 24, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

St. Charbel Makhlouf is known in Lebanon for the miraculous healings of those who visit his tomb to seek his... 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

Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem condemns Israeli military action

Jul 5, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned the military operation and bemoaned the damage to the Roman Catholic parish in Jenin. Read more

The campaign poster for Father Hyacinth Iormen Alia alluded to his well-known healing ministry.

Suspended priest takes charge of Nigeria’s strife-torn Benue State

Jul 2, 2023

By Douglas Burton

Hyacinth Iormen Alia ignored the admonitions of his bishop by successfully running for governor of Benue State. Read more

Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti, a missionary who was abducted in Mali in February 2017 and held for nearly five years.

‘Spiritually transformative’: Nun recalls Mali captivity in new religious freedom report

Jun 28, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

The Colombian nun narrated her experience in the foreword of the 2023 edition of the Religious Freedom in the World... Read more

Members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO).

Violence, emergence of new militia among Democratic Republic of Congo bishops’ concerns

Jun 27, 2023

By Magdalene Kahiu

“We are witnessing the persistence and worsening of insecurity, especially in the eastern part of our country,” the bishops stated... Read more

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Ugandan diocese observes five-day prayer for victims of secondary school attack

Jun 27, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

On June 16, suspected members of the Allied Democratic Forces reportedly attacked the school, killing some 41 people, including 38... Read more

Father Apollinaire Cibaka Cikongo.

‘There is sometimes a terrifying silence’ regarding abortions in Africa, priest says

Jun 25, 2023

By ACI Africa

Father Apollinaire Cibaka Cikongo of the Democratic Republic of Congo expressed concern about the “general silence” on abortion in Africa. Read more

Father Marcellus Nwaohuocha was freed from captivity in the Archdiocese of Jos in Nigeria June 20, 2023.

Nigerian priest freed after torture, hospitalized with ‘deep wounds on his head’

Jun 21, 2023

By ACI Africa

Father Marcellus Nwaohuocha, OMI, who was kidnapped on June 17 from Nigeria’s Jos Archdiocese, has been freed.  Read more

Father Marcellus Nwaohuocha was abducted on June 17, 2023, from the Archdiocese of Jos in Nigeria.

Missionary priest abducted in Nigeria’s Jos Archdiocese; security guard killed

Jun 19, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

Father Marcellus Nwaohuocha, a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, was kidnapped June 17. Read more

Father Jeremiah Yakubu of the Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria was freed on Monday, June 12, 2023, after 24 hours in captivity.

Nigerian priest abducted on Corpus Christi Sunday regains freedom

Jun 14, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

Father Jeremiah Yakubu, who was kidnapped from his parish rectory in Karku, Nigeria, Sunday evening, has been released. Read more

The Diocese of Kafanchan in Nigeria said Father Jeremiah Yakubu was taken from his parish's rectory on Sunday, June 11.

Nigeria’s Diocese of Kafanchan appeals for ‘intense prayers’ for abducted priest

Jun 13, 2023

By Magdalene Kahiu

The diocese said Father Jeremiah Yakubu from Holy Trinity Parish in Karku was taken from the rectory at about 11... Read more

Father Charles Onomhoale Igechi was shot dead while returning from pastoral duties in Nigeria’s Benin City Archdiocese on Wednesday, June 7.

Nigerian priest returning from pastoral duties shot dead; archdiocese in ‘great shock’

Jun 12, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

In a statement shared June 8 with ACI Africa, CNA’s African news partner, Archbishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze expressed shock at... Read more

Fulgence Kayishema, a former Rwandan police officer suspected to have ordered the killing of at least 2,000 Tutsis who were seeking refuge at St. Paul’s Nyange Catholic Parish during the 1994 genocide, was arrested May 24, 2023.

Police arrest suspected mastermind of massacre at Rwandan Catholic parish in 1994 genocide

Jun 1, 2023

By Silas Isenjia

Reuters reported that Fulgence Kayishema, one of the top suspects in the genocide, was arrested May 24 on a grape... Read more

Father Matthias Opara was freed May 28, 2023, after spending three days in captivity in Nigeria’s Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri.

Catholic priest in Nigeria freed on Pentecost Sunday after three days in captivity

May 30, 2023

By Jude Atemanke

Father Matthias Opara, a Nigerian Catholic priest who was abducted on May 26 while returning from a funeral, has been... Read more

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CNA freelancer recounts ‘horrifying experience’ of witnessing Nigeria firefight

May 26, 2023

By Douglas Burton

The exchange of gunfire, which lasted about an hour, took place on May 16 in Mangu City in Central Nigeria’s... Read more

The Vulnerable People Project rescue three nuns trapped in the middle of the crossfire in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, May 2023.

Catholic organization rescues three nuns trapped amid crossfire in Sudan

May 24, 2023

By Diego Lopez Marina

The Vulnerable People Project evacuated in cooperation with other institutions three nuns caught in the crossfire of the civil war... Read more

A pride flag hangs from the Peterborough Cathedral in England in 2019.

Anglicans in Africa reject archbishop of Canterbury for supporting same-sex union blessings

Apr 24, 2023

By Kevin J. Jones

The meeting of global Anglicans voiced no confidence in Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and called on him and the... Read more