Middle East - Africa News

Sisters from the Salesian Sisters in Sudan serve the poor and needy in the midst of a brutal war in Sudan. The sisters commiunity, Dar Mariam, has been a refuge for hundreds, though has damaged by gunfire and bombs. May 2024.

Civil war in Sudan: What’s happening and why?

Jun 17, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

Amid the chaos and a complex set of competing political interests, children and the poor have been hit hardest. Read more

An unknown security guard stands at the entrance of a church destroyed during the fighting with ISIS in Mosul, Iraq.

10 years after Mosul’s destruction, will Christians come back?

Jun 14, 2024

By Georgena Habbaba

Mosul’s exiled Christians grapple today with rebuilding their lives while demanding accountability and a future built on equity and justice. Read more

Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima speaks at a press conference at his private residence in Lilongwe on Feb. 5, 2020.

Malawi’s vice president, a ‘devout Catholic,’ among 10 confirmed dead in plane crash

Jun 11, 2024

By ACI Africa

The secretary general of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, Father Valeriano Mtseka, described the late vice president as a “devout... Read more

A reporter from an Israeli news outlet at a press conference hosted by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. The Center presented its report called “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” on June 4, 2024, at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem.

Interreligous group releases report highlighting harassment of Christians in Holy Land

Jun 11, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

According to the report, there were 90 known attacks in 2023, a notable increase in cases of spitting, physical, and... Read more

Father Gabriel Ukeh was kidnapped from Nigeria's Archdiocese of Kaduna on June 9, 2024.

Nigeria archdiocese appeals for prayers for priest abducted from parish rectory

Jun 10, 2024

By Jude Atemanke

The Archdiocese of Kaduna is appealing for the “urgent and safe release” of Father Gabriel Ukeh, who was abducted from... Read more

On Friday, June 7, 2024, the day of the feast of the Sacred Heart, the Catholic Church in Turkey was consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. John's Cathedral, Izmir.

Catholic Church in Turkey consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jun 10, 2024

By Nathalie Ritzmann

Monsignor Marek Solczyński, apostolic nuncio to Turkey, presided over the ceremony and was surrounded by bishops from the country’s Catholic... Read more

Believers gather at the Namugongo Shrine in Uganda for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage on June 3, 2024, where the country's president, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, urged them to be at the forefront of fostering peace in the East African region. Museveni lauded Christians and other believers in the country for "embracing unity" and fostering religious tolerance.

Uganda Martyrs Day: President urges Christians to lead by example in fostering peace

Jun 4, 2024

By Silas Mwale Isenjia

The president of Uganda urged believers gathered at the Namugongo Shrine for this year’s Martyrs’ Day Pilgrimage to be at... Read more

The entrance of Jaffa Gate (interior), one of the main access points to the Old City of Jerusalem, was almost empty around noon on Friday, May 24. According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, just over 80,000 people entered the country in April 2024, a decrease of 77 percent compared to April 2023. The same decrease was recorded for the first quarter of 2024.

Where are all the pilgrims? The current state of religious tourism in the Holy Land

Jun 4, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

During the month of May in Jerusalem, the major holidays of the three major religions passed with an almost total... Read more

Pilgrims attend Mass ahead of a Marian procession on May 31, 2024, near the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem to ask Our Lady of Palestine to intercede for peace in war-torn Gaza.

Jerusalem’s Marian procession: A call for peace in war-torn Gaza

Jun 3, 2024

By Rafi Ghattas

Palestinian Christians carried a statue of Mary through the streets of Jerusalem to ask Our Lady of Palestine to intercede... Read more

The procession in Zahle, Lebanon, for the feast of Corpus Christi, May 30, 2024.

Feast of Corpus Christi: Lebanon celebrates 199 years of miraculous Eucharistic event

May 31, 2024

By Marguerita Kallassy

Thousands of Christians flocked to Zahle, Lebanon, on Thursday, May 30, a city nicknamed “The City of 52 Churches,” to... Read more

Catholics attend Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Lahore, on Aug. 20, 2023, four days after mob attacked several Pakistani churches over blasphemy allegations. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalized when hundreds rampaged through a Christian neighbourhood in Jaranwala in Punjab province on Aug. 16.

Church responds to mob attack on Christians in Pakistan

May 31, 2024

By Aftab Alexander Mughal

After the recent attack on Christians in Sargodha, Church officials strongly condemned the incident. Read more

Peace reigns inside Dar Mariam, the residence of the Salesian Sisters in Sudan despite the fact that it has been surrounded by heavy gunfire and bombed multiple times as war rages on in the northeastern African country.

In midst of brutal war, Sudanese Catholic community says ‘relationship with God has grown’

May 31, 2024

By Agnes Aineah

Peace reigns inside Dar Mariam, the residence of the Salesian Sisters in Sudan, despite the fact that it has been... Read more

On his second day in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, Feb. 1, 2023, Pope Francis listened to the stories of victims of violence from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s conflict-ridden eastern region.

14 Catholics killed in Democratic Republic of Congo after refusing to convert to Islam

May 30, 2024

By Peter Pinedo

The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that the 14 Catholics were killed in North Kivu by members of an ISIS-affiliated... Read more

A refugee camp in Gaza houses those displaced by the war.

Catholic Relief Services unable to provide aid to southern Gaza amid ongoing war

May 30, 2024

By Kate Quiñones

“Most of the aid crosses through Rafah, and the Rafah crossing has been closed since early May because of the... Read more

Archbishop Hubertus van Megen celebrates the episcopal consecration of Father John Kiplimo Lelei as auxiliary bishop of Kenya’s Diocese of Eldoret on May 25, 2024.

Nuncio in Kenya: Church in Europe is losing ‘its inner compass’

May 29, 2024

By Jude Atemanke

Archbishop Hubertus van Megen recently highlighted some of the weaknesses of the Church in Europe, which he said reflect an... Read more

Pilgrims on their way to Ugandan Martyrs' Day on May 21, 2024.

Kenyan pilgrims begin more than 200-mile walk to mark Ugandan Martyrs Day

May 25, 2024

By ACI Africa

Millions are expected to arrive at the Namugongo Shrine, the site where St. Charles Lwanga and his companions were burned... Read more

A moment of prayer during the procession through the narrow streets of the Christian quarter of Bab-Touma (St. Paul) in the Old City of Damascus on July 9, 2023, in celebration of the liturgical feast of the Martyrs of Damascus.

Joy in Syria: Pope Francis gives ‘green light’ for canonization of ‘Martyrs of Damascus’ 

May 23, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

The Vatican has announced that eight Franciscan friars and three laymen who were killed for their faith in Syria will... Read more

Israel Antiquities Authority excavation in Rahat (aerial view), May 2024.

Archaeological discovery sheds light on Christian pilgrimages to Holy Land 1,500 years ago

May 23, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered a Byzantine-period church in the northern Negev desert with wall art displaying... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, listens to a question during the May 20, 2024, press briefing with a small group of journalists at the Latin Patriarchate headquarters in Jerusalem about his recent visit to visit the Catholic community in Gaza.

Cardinal Pizzaballa meets with journalists to discuss visit to Catholic parish in Gaza 

May 20, 2024

By Marinella Bandini

After returning from the Catholic parish in northern Gaza, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, spoke to the press about... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa gives the homily at a Mass in which he took possession of his titular church, St. Onuphrius, in Rome on May 1, 2024.

Cardinal Pizzaballa visits Gaza in show of support, solidarity with ‘suffering population’

May 16, 2024

By Matthew Santucci

Pizzaballa “entered Gaza and reached the Parish of the Holy Family for a pastoral visit,” said a press release issued... Read more