The Voice of the suffering in Africa

As the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to hear the Gospel prepares to receive a visit from Pope Leo XIV, the Church makes a renewed appeal for reconciliation in Angola. Pope Leo XIV will be visiting Angola in April, as part of an Apostolic trip to Africa that includes Equatorial Guinea, Algeria, and Cameroon. This trip is generating enormous interest throughout Angola, with the local Church hoping that the Pope’s April 18-21 visit might lead to the end of political ...

The Bishop of Wukari tells ACN about the suffering of his people and says the federal government of Nigeria must do more to stop the violence. The Diocese of Wukari in Taraba State, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, is experiencing a severe security crisis caused by armed groups mostly made up of people from the Fulani ethnic group. “In recent weeks, more than seven presbyteries and priests’ residences have been attacked and vandalized, a figure that far exceeds the two attacks ...

A priest has warned that terrorists are “sneaking” into villages after a suspected suicide attack in northeast Nigeria resulted in multiple deaths. Father Joseph Fidelis, from the Diocese of Maiduguri, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that attacks by extremists had been happening in nearby villages for two weeks before a devastating attack on March 16, which saw 28 killed. Fr. Fidelis said, “On Sunday night, they attempted to infiltrate the town, but the military sighted ...

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will visit Algeria, making this the country’s first-ever visit from a current pope. Leo, an Augustinian by formation, will visit Algiers and Hippo Regius – the historical name of Annaba – following in the footsteps of St. Augustine. In this interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Michel Jean-Paul Guillaud of Constantine-Hippone speaks about expectations for the visit and how the Church endures in the mostly Muslim nation of Algeria. ...

The only diocese in Mauritania has just celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. Bishop Victor Ndione, who has led the Diocese of Nouakchott for two years, tells Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the challenges of being a pastor in a transit country marked by clandestine migration, as well as the Church’s lack of resources. What is it that makes your diocese unique? The Church in Mauritania, which has just one diocese established in December 1965, comprises around ...

Thousands of Catholics in northeast Nigeria have returned to church in defiance of fear, following more than 15 years of violent insurgencies. Bishop John Bakeni and Bishop Oliver Doeme of the Diocese of Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that worshipers were coming back “in their thousands, not hundreds.” Whuabazhi Pilgrimage Center – which ACN helped build – has seen record numbers attending. The bishops said: “People come back healed…it’s a ...