Middle East - Africa News

Cardinal Robert Sarah, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Cardinal Sarah addresses First African Congress on liturgy

Dec 10, 2023

By ACI Africa

Cardinal Robert Sarah recently cautioned against the overuse of cultural elements over Christian ones during liturgical celebrations. Read more

Father Gabriel Romanelli (center), the Latin parish priest of Gaza, is among the celebrants at a Mass to celebrate the feast day of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and the Holy Land at the shrine dedicated to her at Deir Rafat on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

‘These are very hard times’: Pastor of Gaza Catholic church gives update on Christians’ plight

Dec 6, 2023

By Peter Pinedo

“The pope called us daily, to check on us,” said Father Gabriel Romanelli in a recent interview where he discussed... Read more

Nigerian priest Father Kingsley Eze was kidnapped Nov. 30, 2023, traveling to a sick call.

Parish priest in Nigeria abducted while answering sick call

Dec 5, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

Father Kingsley Eze, parish priest of St. Michael’s Umuekebi Catholic Church in Nigeria’s Imo state, was kidnapped Nov. 30 and... Read more

The small procession of Franciscan friars, with the Custos of the Holy Land, arrives in Manger Square, in front of the Basilica of the Nativity, in Bethlehem on Saturday, Dec. 2, the day of the solemn entrance for the beginning of Advent. The Square, typically crowded with local believers and pilgrims, was empty. Dec. 2, 2023.

PHOTOS: Bethlehem welcomes Advent 2023 with quieter procession, still with hope

Dec 4, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

To mark the beginning of Advent, the custos of the Holy Land and the Franciscan friars made their annual procession... Read more

Altar of the Child Jesus and the relic of the manger in the Church of Saint Catherine (Basilica of the Nativity) in Bethlehem.

New Holy Land virtual Advent pilgrimage hopes to fill ‘holy sites with peace’

Dec 2, 2023

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

With the Israel-Hamas war, pilgrims can’t get to many holy sites this Advent and Christmas, so the Magdala Tourist Center... Read more

Brother Godwin Eze.

‘I am prepared to die a martyr’: Freed Nigerian monk recounts kidnapping, murder of brother monk

Nov 30, 2023

By Agnes Aineah

Brother Peter Olarewaju recounts the horrific kidnapping and torture he and other monks suffered, including the murder of a brother... Read more

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MAP: Are Holy Land pilgrimage sites threatened by the Israel-Hamas war?  

Nov 30, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Amid the uncertainty of war, what is the outlook for the Holy Land’s many precious sites? CNA spoke to Father... Read more

Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, a German priest who was reportedly kidnapped in November 2022 in Mali, was freed Nov. 26, 2023.

German missionary priest released a year after being abducted in Mali

Nov 27, 2023

By Silas Isenjia

Father Hans-Joachim Lohre, a member of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa who was reportedly kidnapped in Bamako, Mali,... Read more

The road leading from checkpoint 300, one of the main entrances to Bethlehem, to the city is completely deserted. Since Oct. 7, when the war broke out, the gate has been closed. Nov. 18, 2023.

PHOTOS: Christmas celebrations canceled in Bethlehem in the midst of war

Nov 26, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

The patriarchs and leaders of the Churches in Jerusalem have urged the faithful to focus on the spiritual meaning of... Read more

Weekday Mass is celebrated in the Church of Sts. Simeon and Anne in Jerusalem, where the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community (keilla) gathers together.

‘A battle inside us’: Hebrew Catholics in the Holy Land wrestle with challenges of war

Nov 19, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

The Israel-Hamas war has brought challenges to Hebrew Catholics in Israel, but the diverse and vibrant community holds on to... Read more

A woman sits with a child by drying laundry outside a classroom at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 14, 2023, where internally displaced Palestinians have taken refuge amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Catholic Relief Services calls for ‘immediate cessation of violence’ in Gaza to allow aid

Nov 16, 2023

By Daniel Payne

CRS is supporting four churches in Gaza where “they are running out of food, running out of water, and are... Read more

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) issued warnings on Nov. 14, 2023, of a potential humanitarian crisis in Ghana after a “devastating” flood in the southeastern part of the country. 

Catholic Relief Services warns of disease, ‘long-term’ hunger amid devastating Ghana flood

Nov 15, 2023

By Daniel Payne

A CRS representative in Ghana said 200,000 hectares remain covered by water in the southeastern part of the country, impacting... Read more

At the end of the Mass of consecration on Nov. 1, 2023, María Ruiz Rodríguez shows the ring symbolizing her membership in the Ordo Virginum. That's the only outward sign of her consecration.

Church in Jerusalem welcomes new consecrated member

Nov 12, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

María Ruiz Rodríguez made her consecration in the Ordo Virginum on Nov. 1, permanently rooting herself in the local ecclesiastical... Read more

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil in Iraq.

Iraqi archbishop fears war in Holy Land could spread to entire region

Nov 9, 2023

By Andrés Henríquez

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda fears a possible escalation in the conflict will end up unleashing a wave of migration... Read more

Catholics in Jerusalem gather on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, for a prayer vigil to implore from God the gift of peace for their land.

PHOTOS: Catholics gather in Jerusalem for a prayer vigil for peace

Nov 9, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

The event took place at the Terra Sancta High School of the Custody of the Holy Land, located in the... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem asks for donations in face of suffering, hatred in Holy Land

Nov 7, 2023

By Andrés Henríquez

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa explained that it is “charity and prayer” that have animated the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem “in times... Read more

Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto in Nigeria.

Nigerian bishop: Tens of thousands spent to rescue kidnapped priests, seminarians

Nov 3, 2023

By ACI Africa

Most of the money has been spent rescuing priests, seminarians, and other pastoral caregivers who were kidnapped by various militia... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, imparts the blessing in front of the aedicule of the Holy Sepulcher on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, where Jesus’ tomb is venerated. Here ends the Way of the Cross that the Franciscan friars celebrate every Friday.

Jerusalem patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa: The Lord ‘wants me to bring his grace to this place’

Nov 3, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

“We do not pray for those who are right or wrong. We pray for those who are at war,” Jerusalem... Read more

Workers distribute medical aid and medicines to Nasser Medical Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, which recently arrived through the Rafah crossing on Oct. 29, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

U.S. bishops renew call for peace in the Holy Land

Oct 31, 2023

By Tyler Arnold

The U.S. bishops are renewing their call for peace in the Holy Land as the Israel-Hamas war moves towards it... Read more

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, delivers his homily at a Mass in celebration of the feast day of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine and the Holy Land at the shrine dedicated to her at Deir Rafat on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem reconsecrates Holy Land to Our Lady, Queen of Palestine

Oct 30, 2023

By Marinella Bandini

“Today, we consecrate once again our Church, our diocese, our land to Our Lady, Queen of Palestine,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa... Read more