The Voice of the suffering in Africa

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) strongly condemns the violent attack perpetrated on July 10, 2025 against the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivhianokpodi, Diocese of Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria. The assault led to the death of a security guard and the kidnapping of three seminarians.  According to the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, the attack occurred at around 9:00 P.M., when several armed men stormed the seminary compound and opened fire. Christopher Aweneghieme, a member of the Civil Defense Corps ...

Like the 9/11 Memorial in lower Manhattan, a public memorial park dedicated to the victims of a deadly Pentecost Sunday attack on a church in Nigeria provided consolation to those who lost loved ones. Now, for reasons that are still unclear, the Governor of Ondo State in southwestern Nigeria, decided to demolish the public memorial. The demolition was carried out earlier this week. On Wednesday, June 25, the Catholic Diocese of Ondo issued a statement saying that it has sought ...

The Mercedarian Sisters were the second congregation to suffer an armed robbery in a matter of days, as the violence in northern Mozambique steadily worsens.   The Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in the Diocese of Pemba, Mozambique endured a near-death experience on June 8, when the home they run was broken into by a group of men armed with guns and machetes.  The four sisters, who care for about 30 young girls, were robbed of all their valuables and ...

The priest in Nigeria who narrowly escaped with his life following one of the country’s worst massacres of Christians has spoken of his determination to stay and help the community rise again out of the ashes of persecution. Father Ukuma Jonathan’s latest interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) comes amid reports that the death toll in Yelewata, Benue State had risen to more than 200, with as many as 20 corpses recently discovered in a ...

Religious Freedom. It’s a value that was so important to the Founding Fathers that they dedicated the First Amendment to the Constitution to it. It’s a freedom, though, that many Americans tend to take for granted. Each year, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sponsors Religious Freedom Week, to remind Americans of this precious value and to serve as a call to prayer, reflection, and action. The week begins with the feast of the martyr Saints Thomas More and ...

Four Salesian priests and four women religious serve a population of over 90,000 South Sudanese refugees in Palabek, Uganda. For World Refugee Day, June 20, we look at the education and spiritual needs they are addressing, and the ways ACN is helping.  The Salesian priest Fr. Ubaldino Andrade, or “Fr. Ube,” as he is known, laughs a lot. In fact, he laughs so much that one would not imagine that he currently lives in one of the most desolate places ...