Unidentified armed men stormed a Catholic seminary in southern Nigeria on Sunday, October 27th, and kidnapped its rector. The terrorists attacked Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivhianokpodi, Edo State and captured Father Thomas Oyode during Benediction and Evening Prayer, according to a statement sent to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Father Peter Egielewa, director of communications for the Auchi Diocese, wrote in the statement that “the vice vector and all the seminarians have been accounted for ...

The bishops of Venezuela recently concluded their 45th Extraordinary Plenary Assembly, during which they discussed issues of crucial importance to the country. Over three days, from October 15-17, they met to pray and reflect on the social, political, and ecclesiastical situation in Venezuela.   In a statement called “The truth shall set you free” (John 8:31), the bishops issued a call to the National Electoral Council to publish details of the results of the elections held on July 28th, as requested ...

One highlight of this year’s campaign was in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Fátima, where Cardinal António Marto thanked the children for their participation, adding that with them, “God can do great and wonderful things.”  Last Friday, more than one million children all over the world answered Pope Francis’s call to join the “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” initiative, to pray for peace and unity, with the support, once again, of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in ...

For two years, Bishop Vitaly Krivitskiy of the Latin Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr has lived in a time of war. Faced with a distraught people, he is organizing his parishes into sanctuaries of faith and preparing his priests to offer “spiritual first aid” to soldiers at the front.  At 52 years of age, Bishop Vitaly Krivitskiy is leading a diocese of 70 priests, all of them facing misery every day as a result of the war in their country. They witness ...

Christians around the world are suffering increased violence, discrimination, and other human rights abuses, according to a report released today.  Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) released Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2022-24 on Tuesday, October 22nd, highlighting that Christian persecution has significantly worsened in most countries surveyed.  Persecuted and Forgotten? provides global and regional analysis, examining the situation for Christians in 18 countries of key concern – from Nicaragua in ...

Bishop Antonio Juliasse says that ACN continues to be a “friendly hand,” having stood by the local Church through a conflict that has already killed over 5,000 people and displaced over one million. The Bishop of Pemba in Mozambique recalled the seventh anniversary of the start of the Islamist insurgency that devasted the province of Cabo Delgado. During a visit to Portugal, on his way back to Mozambique after visiting Rome with other bishops from the country, Bishop António Juliasse ...