Tony has been going on this pilgrimage since he was three months old. “There are pictures of me being carried along,” he says, his voice tinged with emotion. “I am encouraged by my love for Mary, with the title of Our Lady of Lourdes, and I thank God for allowing me to accompany Our Heavenly Mother on this pilgrimage every year.”

The conflict, which pits government forces against armed resistance groups and ethnic militias, has become significantly worse over the past year, with fighting affecting almost the entire country. The current situation brings suffering to all sectors of society and poses a particular danger to vulnerable minority communities, including Christians.

They were known as "rucksack priests," and they had to cover unbelievably long distances. We know of priests who traveled for days on foot or on bicycle. They were absolutely exhausted. Father Werenfried van Straaten recognized how desperate their situation was and asked himself: "What can we do right now to help these people?"

In Nigeria’s Benue State, more than 400 people were killed, and more than 100 others were wounded, raped, or kidnapped, in attacks on settlements and farming communities in 2023,

he stopped seeing José Si Esono as a catechist who had taught them to pray, but instead as someone who “wanted to erase the beliefs their ancestors had passed down to them. "They accused him of witchcraft and burned him alive.

Education is vital for the survival of Iraq’s long-suffering Christian community. Poverty and unemployment are the biggest issues currently facing Christians in the country. To remain in their ancestral homeland, Christians must find stable employment, but a strong education is needed to find secure jobs.