Christians in the Middle East

The Latest

Pope Francis blesses an image of Mary in St. Peter's Square May 3, 2017.

Pope Francis gives thousands of rosaries to Christians in Syria

Aug 15, 2019

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis announced Thursday that he is giving 6,000 blessed rosaries to Catholic communities in Syria as a sign of... Read more

A center for internally displaced persons, most of whom are Christians, in Dawodiya, Iraq, April 10, 2016.

US Congress passes bill to relieve Christians, Yazidis in Iraq and Syria

Nov 28, 2018

By Christine Rousselle

The US House of Representatives passed Tuesday H.R. 390, a bill titled “Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act,”... Read more

Abandoned ancient church in Iraqi desert located near Kirkuk city, Iraq.

Pope and Assyrian Patriarch: Blood of Middle East martyrs is ‘seed of Christian unity’

Nov 9, 2018

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis and the Assyrian Patriarch Mar Gewargis III have pledged ecumenical unity in support of persecuted Christians in the... Read more

Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, speaks at a Holy See press conference, Nov. 7, 2018.

Cardinal O'Brien: Don't let Holy Land become a 'museum'

Nov 7, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, told journalists Wednesday that the order of... Read more

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the Knesset Plenary Hall session ahead of the vote on the National Law on late July 18, 2018.

Controversial Israeli law excludes non-Jews, Latin Patriarchate says

Jul 31, 2018

A recently-adopted Israeli law that strongly affirmed the country’s link with the Jewish people and avoided mention of non-Jews wrongly... Read more

Syrian Catholic Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe of Mosul blesses a newly-erected cross in Bakhdida, Iraq, May 2, 2017. Photo courtesy SOS Chretiens Orient.

Religious structures next step in Iraqi building process

Jul 4, 2018

By Elise Harris

Since 2014 international charity organization Aid to the Church in Need has spent some 40 million euros [$46.6 million] funding... Read more

A cross atop the seminary in Beit Jala, Palestine.

Christians an 'essential element of balance' in the Middle East

Jul 3, 2018

By Elise Harris

For two cardinals helping to organize Pope Francis' upcoming trip to Bari, the event is a chance to highlight not... Read more

A family at the Sharia Al Haman Hope refugee camp in Duhok, Iraq, March 28, 2015.

US aid to Iraqi Christians, Yazidis on fast track via Catholic Relief Services

Jun 19, 2018

By Courtney Mares

The United States Agency for International Development has announced it is investing $10 million into coalitions led by Catholic Relief... Read more

Syrian refugees in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon.

Papal agency raises funds to help Christians remain in the Middle East

May 25, 2018

The Catholic Near East Welfare Association in Canada is launching a fundraising campaign to help Christians in the Middle East... Read more

Hartford archdiocese, Knights of Columbus partner to aid Islamic State victims

Apr 18, 2018

In a partnership with the Knights of Columbus, Catholics in the Archdiocese of Hartford are fundraising money to aid the... Read more

Children amid devastated buildings in Gaza.

As Palestinian Christians flee Gaza, priest expresses grave concern

Apr 9, 2018

In the past six years the number of Christians in the Gaza Strip has plummeted from 4,500 to just 1,000,... Read more

A woman at Sharia Al Haman Hope Refugee Camp in Duhok, Iraq, March 28, 2015.

Knights of Columbus announce Easter pledge to aid persecuted Christians

Mar 28, 2018

In light of Holy Week, the Knights of Columbus announced that it will be donating more than $1 million to... Read more

The remains of St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox church in Homs, Syria.

Good Friday collection will aid Christians in Middle East

Mar 12, 2018

By Hannah Brockhaus

As the Vatican’s annual Good Friday Collection approaches, the head of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches has encouraged people... Read more

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil speaks at Georgetown University on Feb. 15.

Archbishop of Erbil: Christians in Iraq are ‘scourged, wounded, but still there’

Feb 19, 2018

By Courtney Mares

The Chaldean Archbishop spoke of the state of Christianity in Iraq today and what both Muslim and Western leaders can... Read more

Documents from a CUA research trip to to Urmia, Van, and Mosul. Courtesy of The Catholic University of America.

Saving ancient Christian cultures…one story at a time

Dec 29, 2017

By Adelaide Mena

Ancient artifacts. Centuries-old legends. Prayers dating back to the time of Christ. An enemy seeking to destroy it all. And... Read more

Find hope in the sign of the cross, Pope tells Eastern Christians

Nov 24, 2017

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis on Friday encouraged Eastern Christians in the Middle East, who are experiencing persecution and violence, to take hope... Read more

Victims of Islamic State in focus at UN forum

Nov 6, 2017

Persecuted religious minorities in Syria and Iraq deserve a better future after suffering at the hands of the Islamic State... Read more

Greek Orthodox patriarch: Christians are not strangers in Middle East

Oct 27, 2017

By Adelaide Mena

Middle Eastern patriarchs reaffirmed the deep history of Christianity in the Middle East and called for its perseverance into the... Read more

The statue of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa, Lebanon.

Christians play vital role in Middle East – the view from Lebanon

Oct 24, 2017

The Church in Lebanon is working to aid the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the great majority of whom... Read more

A survey of damage as seen in November 2016 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Bakhdida, Iraq, which was occupied by the Islamic State Oct. 2014-Oct. 2016.

A modern horror: global persecution of Christians at historic peak, report says

Oct 17, 2017

Anti-Christian persecution is “worse than at any time in history” and in many cases genocide and other crimes against humanity... Read more