Six religious sisters of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent and an Ursuline nun who were arrested by Ethiopian security forces in November last year have been freed on 15 January after over 40 days of detention. The nuns had been abducted on 30 November, in the context of [...]
The number of Catholics in the country is very small (one percent), but the bishops of Kazakhstan addressed various messages to the people so that - with the help of God – the current difficulties will be resolved and peace and harmony return to the country. Archbishop Tomasz Peta spoke [...]
In an interview with the Colombian branch of the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, Sister Gloria Cecilia Narváez, released last October in Mali, spoke about her missionary work, her captivity and her appeal to be a living witness. Here is a summary of her long interview. Sister [...]
The Apostolic Administrator of Pemba, Bishop António Juliasse, has called for urgent assistance for an increasing number of displaced people fleeing violence pointing out that the situation in Cabo Delgado is not getting any better. Bishop Juliasse told Vatican News that insecurity and the humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado are [...]
The “Handmaids of Mary“ are a congregation founded in Madrid in the 19th century. Their special mission is to care for all the sick, whether in the hospitals or in their homes. This they do entirely free of charge and with a special love and care, for in every sick [...]
For ACN, two sentiments predominate as ACN looks back on the past year; gratitude and concern. Looking back with gratitude to the year 2021, the executive president of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Dr Thomas Heine-Geldern, has released the following statement: “In 2021, the work [...]
In Uganda, the number of vocations is rising each year. According to Vatican statistics, every fifth seminarian worldwide now comes from Africa. The seminary for mature vocations in Kampala, Uganda, can now scarcely accommodate the many candidates who want to study for the priesthood. This was the report of the [...]
A statue of the Virgin Mary that had been desecrated by the Islamic State but was later restored has been returned to its original church. The statue was decapitated, and its hands cut off, in Karemlesh, a largely Christian town 18 miles east of Mosul, during the Islamic State's occupation [...]
Pope Francis dedicates his first prayer message of 2022 to combatting religious discrimination and persecution. He reminds us that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship; rather, it is tied to fraternity. Indicating fraternity as the path to follow, the Pope invites us to value other people’s differences [...]
Bishops in Jerusalem have warned that the existence of Christianity in the Holy Land is threatened by “a systematic attempt” to drive the community out. The Statement on the Current Threat to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land issued by the Patriarchs and heads of local Churches in Jerusalem [...]
