On Sunday Pope Leo XIV again condemns the violence against Christians in Nigeria

 

The body of a victim lies on a wooden stretcher following the attack in Woro, Kwara State, on February 5.  (AFP or licensors)

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• Nigeria
• violence
• appeal
• terrorism

Pope condemns deadly attacks in Nigeria

At the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV expresses "sorrow and concern" over the latest wave of deadly attacks in Nigeria, which have claimed dozens of lives, and expresses his hope that authorities will "continue to work with determination to ensure the safety and protection of the life of every citizen."

By Olivier Bonnel and Valerio Palombaro

Pope Leo has again appealed for prayers for Nigeria, which has recently suffered another spate of deadly attacks.

"It is with sorrow and concern that I learned of the recent attacks against various communities in Nigeria leading to a heavy loss of life," the Pope said, speaking on Sunday after reciting the noonday Angelus.. 

On the evening of 3 February, at least 160 people were killed in the village of Woro, in the country’s central-west region.

"I express my prayerful closeness to all the victims of violence and terrorism," the Pope added. "I likewise hope that the competent Authorities will continue to work with determination to ensure the safety and protection of the life of every citizen."

READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE POPE'S ADDRESS HERE

A new round of abductions

At least 51 people have also been abducted and six killed over the past three days during attacks on four different villages in Kaduna State. According to Nigerian security sources cited by AFP, the attacks took place in the southern part of Kaduna State, a predominantly Christian area, where more than 180 people were abducted in January before being released in the past few days. 

Attack on the Catholic community of Karku

Armed men abducted 11 people, including a priest, and killed three others in the Kajuru local government area. The Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan confirmed the abduction of a priest, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, parish priest of Holy Trinity Church in Karku, in the Kajuru area. According to a statement from the archdiocese, the attack occurred around 3 a.m. on Saturday morning at his residence and also resulted in the deaths of three people, in what witnesses described as “an invasion by a group of terrorists.”

In response to the surge in violence—ranging from attacks by jihadist groups such as Boko Haram to raids by armed gangs—the federal government has deployed an army battalion to the Kaiama district on the orders of President Bola Tinubu. 

In addition to Nigeria, the Pope also prayed on Sunday for victims of human trafficking and for those affected by floods and landslides in Spain, Morocco, Portugal and Sicily.

In 2025, 17 Catholic missionaries were killed including 10 Priests

 

Church

• Africa
• Pontifical Mission Societies
• religious
• priests
• seminarians
• Nigeria
• martyrs
• violence

Seventeen Catholic missionaries killed in 2025, 10 of them in Africa

The Vatican's Fides News Agency releases its annual report on missionaries and pastoral workers killed in the last year, recording 17 deaths across the globe, with the African continent, and Nigeria especially, the most affected.

By Isabella H. de Carvalho

Seventeen missionaries were killed across the globe in 2025, 10 of whom died in Africa, five of which in Nigeria, according to the Fides News Agency, a service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

As the year draws to a close, and with it the Jubilee of Hope, Fides released its annual report on December 30, reporting the deaths of missionaries and pastoral workers across the world.

Every year, Fides highlights the stories of priests, religious, seminarians, and laypeople who dedicate their lives to serving Christ and the Church, often in contexts marked by violence, poverty, and injustice.

According to the 2025 report, 10 priests, 2 seminarians, 2 catechists, 2 religious sisters, and 1 layman lost their lives. This year marked an increase in deaths compared to 2024, when 14 missionaries were killed. From 2000 to 2025, Fides has accounted for the deaths of 626 missionaries or pastoral workers.  

The 2025 report underlines that it takes into account a broad definition of 'missionaries,' saying it includes all Catholics who are involved in some way in pastoral activities and are killed in violent circumstances, whether or not their deaths met the strict criteria for martyrdom.

Many Catholic deaths in Africa and Nigeria

The African continent remains one of the most dangerous continents for missionary work, with 10 deaths in 2025.

Of these, 6 of those killed were priests, 2 were seminarians, and 2 were catechists. The countries affected were Burkina Faso, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Nigeria, which account for half of the deaths.

In an interview with Fides, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who is Nigerian, said, “All of this is a source of profound sadness” and “also a bit of shame.”

“Nigeria is one of the countries with the most religious population in the world: a nation of believers, Christians, and Muslims. We all claim to be people of peace,” he insisted.

The Archbishop said he hopes to see the Muslim population also “denounce and reject the use of their religion to commit acts of violence.”

“We must all reject any justification for using religion to perpetrate violent acts, even to the point of taking people's lives,” he continued.

In the interview, Archbishop Nwachukwu highlighted that these Christians did not die trying to be heroes but were struck by violence in their daily lives, such as in seminaries or schools.

He emphasized that the Nigerian government should do more to defend and protect innocent people and improve the security situation in the country.

Other continents affected

The Fides report mentions how another continent which has often topped this “tragic ranking” in the past is the Americas.

After Africa, it is the region most affected this year, with 4 missionaries being killed in 2025, 2 priests in Mexico and the United States, and 2 religious sisters in Haiti.

In Asia, one priest in Myanmar and one layman, a teacher in the Philippines, lost their lives. Lastly, in Europe, one priest was killed in Poland.

Killed while serving the Church  

Among the stories underlined by Fides is that of the young Nigerian seminarian, Emmanuel Alabi, who died in July during a forced march imposed on him by his kidnappers, who had attacked the minor seminary in Ivianokpodi and wounded him.

They also mention the story of religious sisters Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, both of whom belonged to the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who murdered in March by armed gang members in Haiti.

Lastly, Fides highlights Father Donald Martin, the first Burmese Catholic priest killed in the conflict that has plagued Myanmar. His lifeless and mutilated body was found in February by several of his parishioners in the church complex. 

The latest update on the Nigerian Catholic school kidnapping

 

Fifty kidnapped Catholic school students in Nigeria escape

By Ahmed Kingimi

November 24, 2025

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Fifty of the more than 300 students kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last week have escaped and have been reunited with their parents, the Catholic Church and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said on Sunday.

But around 253 of the kidnapped children, along with 12 staff members and teachers, are still with the kidnappers, said CAN Chairman Bulus Yohanna, a Catholic Bishop who is also the proprietor of the school.

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In a statement, Yohanna said the pupils escaped on Friday and Saturday. Parents rushed to the school in Niger state, to the west of the capital Abuja, after hearing that some children were free.

Amose Ibrahim was one of the parents who went to St. Mary's school to check if any of his three children had escaped.

"Unfortunately, they were not among the escapees," Ibrahim, whose youngest child is six years old, told Reuters by phone. "As of now, many parents and their loved ones are roaming around the school."

PRESIDENT ORDERS HIRING OF MORE POLICE

President Bola Tinubu ordered the hiring of 30,000 more police officers at a meeting with security chiefs on Sunday. He directed the removal of all police from VIP protection services to focus on core duties, especially in remote areas prone to attacks.

Nigeria faces scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump who in early November threatened military action over the treatment of Christians in the country.

Gunmen kidnapped students and teachers from the school on Friday, the latest in a spate of school attacks that has forced some northern states to shut schools. The government also ordered the closure of 47 colleges in the north.

POPE LEO PLEADS FOR RELEASE OF CAPTIVES

In response to the kidnappings, Pope Leo pleaded on Sunday for the immediate release of those who had been taken in one of the worst mass kidnappings ever recorded in Nigeria.

"I make a heartfelt appeal for the immediate release of the hostages," the Pope said at the end of a mass in St. Peter's Square in Rome.

In a separate incident, Tinubu said Nigerian security forces on Sunday rescued 38 people who were abducted during a service at Christ Apostolic Church in Kwara state. At least two people died during the attack.

At General Audience, Pope Leo XIV once again decries the recent church massacre in Congo

 

Pope Leo XIV at General Audience  (@Vatican Media)

Pope

• general audience
• appeal
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• religious persecution
• violence

Pope Leo on DRC attack: I pray for persecuted Christians

In the wake of the deadly attack on a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pope Leo XIV launches an impassioned appeal for all efforts to be made to prevent such tragedies, and reassures all Christians suffering violence and persecution that he is praying for them.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"I renew my deep sorrow for the brutal terrorist attack that took place during the night of July 26 to 27 in Komanda, in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than forty Christians were killed in church during a prayer vigil and in their own homes."

Pope Leo XIV made the remarks during his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope's first General Audience since his summer break. In his appeal, he decried the deadly attack on the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, in the country's Ituri province.

Read also

28/07/2025

Pope: May blood of ‘martyrs’ in DRC church attack become seed of peace

More than 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed the Catholic church and opened fire on worshippers. At least 38 people, including women and children, were confirmed dead in the church, while several others were killed in a nearby village.

During today's Audience, the Pope said he entrusts the victims to God’s loving mercy, adding, "I pray for the wounded and for all Christians around the world who continue to suffer violence and persecution."

“I pray for the wounded and for all Christians around the world who continue to suffer violence and persecution”

With this in mind, the Pope said, "I urge those with responsibilities at both the local and international levels to work together to prevent such tragedies."

In a telegram of condolences sent in the wake of the attack earlier this week, the Holy Father prayed,” May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people.”

“I urge those with responsibilities at both the local and international levels to work together to prevent such tragedies”

Catholics attacked & killed in Congo; Pope Leo XIV offers sorrow, spiritual closeness and prayers

 

File photo of the aftermath of violence in the DRC  (AFP or licensors)

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV
• Pietro Parolin
• telegram
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• catholic church
• political violence

Pope: May blood of ‘martyrs’ in DRC church attack become seed of peace

Pope Leo XIV expresses sorrow and spiritual closeness following the deadly attack on the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By Vatican News 

Read also

28/07/2025

Scores killed in DR Congo attack on Catholic Church

” May the blood of these martyrs become a seed of peace, reconciliation, fraternity, and love for the Congolese people,” the Pope writes in his message following a brutal attack on a Catholic Church in Komanda town in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nearly 40 people were killed Sunday in eastern Congo's Ituri province when rebels stormed a Catholic church during a vigil and opened fire on worshippers.

At least 38 people, including women and children, were confirmed dead in the church, while another five were killed in a nearby village.

In a telegram addressed to Archbishop Mugalu, President of the Congolese Bishops’ Conference on the Pope's behalf, Cardinal Pietro Parolin says, “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV learned with dismay and deep sorrow of the attack perpetrated against the Parish of Blessed Anuarite in Komanda, which caused the death of several faithful gathered for worship.”

This tragedy, he continues, “calls us even more urgently to work for the integral human development of the martyred population of that region.”

Concluding the telegram, Pope Leo XIV imparts his Apostolic Blessing upon the Parish of Blessed Anuarite, the mourning families, the faithful of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the entire nation.

Extremist militias

According to Congolese authorities, the attacks in Komanda town in the conflict-battered region were carried out by the Allied Democratic Force, a rebel group backed by the Islamic State that has mostly targeted villagers in eastern Congo and across the border in Uganda.

The ADF has roots in Uganda in the 1990s. Following the overthrow of long-term dictator Idi Amin, a coalition of various discontent groups saw the new government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni as anti-Muslim. Since then, the group has grown into a potent force but has been pushed out of Uganda’s territories and now operates in the borderlands between Uganda and Congo, often targeting civilians in remote villages.

Prayers continue for the victims of the devastating church bombing in Damascus, Syria.

 

Vigil, prayers for victims of suicide bombing at Damascus church (ANSA)

Church

• Holy Land
• violence
• peace
• Syria

Damascus church bombing: ‘There is no justification’

Following the bombing of the St. Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in Holy Land issues a statement condemning the violence and calling for protection of Christians.

By Kielce Gussie

Following the suicide bombing of St. Elias Church in Damascus—which killed 25 people and injured 63 others—the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land issued a statement expressing its “profound shock and deep revulsion.”

An act of unspeakable evil

The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in Holy Land (ACOHL) brings together the Bishops/Eparchs/Exarchs of the Catholic Church holding jurisdiction over the territory of the Holy Land in Jerusalem, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus.

Read also

23/06/2025

Syria: Suicide bombing at Orthodox Church in Damascus

“There is no justification—religious, moral, or rational—for the slaughter of innocents, least of all in a sacred space,” the ACOHL statement continued. The Assembly argued that claiming faith as the reason to justify this violence “is a grave perversion of all that is holy.”

It is an act of “unspeakable evil—a crime against humanity and a sin before God.”

Referencing the Pope Francis-signed Document on Human Fraternity (Abu Dhabi, 2019), the Assembly highlighted that this attack violated the right to worship in peace and safety:

“The protection of places of worship—synagogues, churches and mosques—is a duty guaranteed by religions, human values, laws and international agreements. Every attempt to attack places of worship or threaten them by violent assaults, bombings or destruction, is a deviation from the teachings of religions.”

May they live in peace

Moreover, the Assembly extended its condolences to the Greek Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, condemning the “barbaric act” and rejecting “ideologies that seek to justify violence in the name of religion.”

Expressing their solidarity with all the Christian communities in Syria who have been living for years with persecution, the statement offered prayers for the victims, healing for the wounded, and comfort for the families affected.

People attend a mass inside Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Damascus that was damaged following the suicide bombing on Sunday, in Damascus

In addition, the Assembly urged the Syrian authorities to work to ensure the protection and freedom of Christians around the country, so “that they may live in safety and contribute fully to the life of their homeland.”

Reflecting on Pope Leo XIV’s words from his Angelus address on June 22, the statement ended, praying that “the swamps of hatred and fanaticism be decisively eradicated so that the peoples of the Middle East—and beloved Syria in particular—may finally live in peace, dignity, and shared humanity.”