As Christmas approaches, the priest of the only Catholic parish in Gaza, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, tells Aid to the Church in Need that his community is attempting to keep the “flame of hope” alive, and thanks benefactors for the material and spiritual support they provide to the Holy Land. “Our situation is better than a month and a half ago, when the ceasefire began, but this does not mean that things are well. They remain very serious, very delicate,” says ...

There are hopeful signs that the remaining students who were kidnapped from a Nigerian Catholic school last month will be home for Christmas. The Diocese of Kontagora, in the west-central State of Niger, confirmed the release of “the second batch” of those abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri November 21. “We are profoundly grateful to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Niger State Government, the security agencies, and all other partners whose efforts and interventions ...

Catholics in a Ukrainian town live under constant threat of missiles and cold. But faith perseveres in Bila Tserkva. Fr. Lucas Perozzi has been serving as a missionary in Ukraine for 22 years. Originally from Brazil, he was recently moved from Kyiv to the small town of Bila Tserkva, about 60 miles from the capital. He was used to air-raid sirens in the big city, but his first night in his new posting was one to remember. “On my first ...

The Church in northern Burkina Faso deplores the lack of media attention given to the terrorist crisis it is suffering, with displaced people facing enormous needs and Christian communities showing great resilience. During a visit to the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need in Königstein, Germany, Bishops Théophile Naré and Justin Kientega spoke about the situation in their Dioceses of Kaya, Dori, and Ouahigouya. For the tenth consecutive year, Christmas Masses in Burkina Faso will take place ...

Some parishes in northern Mozambique can encompass hundreds of communities, and priests and religious cannot reach them all. Catechists are often on the front lines of the Church in the most difficult regions and circumstances. Around 300 families live in difficult conditions in the Ressettlement Camp of Ntele, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. They have fled from the violence that plagues parts of the province, which has suffered from a Jihadist insurgency for over eight years, and are affected by the trauma ...

Securing the release of the remaining 165 students and staff remains the top priority of the local church, Bishop Bulus Yohanna told ACN. One hundred of the 265 students and staff members abducted on November 21 from St. Mary’s School, Papiri, have been released after more than two weeks in the hands of their captors. Following their release on December 9, the hostages — 99 students and one teacher— were taken to the city of Minna, capital of the state ...