DRC: Bells announce life

In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), when the people hear the church bells, they know there is life in the village Residents of Bukavu feel abandoned by the international community. But they know that if they flee, the M23, an armed rebel group backed by Rwanda, will take over their lands. (Banner: Image created with …

Angola: “We cannot host the ‘Messenger of Peace’ with our hearts full of hate”

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 travel to Angola from April 18 to 21 as part of his apostolic journey to Africa, which also includes Algeria, Cameroon, …

Aid to the Church in Need denounces new massacre in Ntoyo

The situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is deteriorating. International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern and solidarity with the families of the victims of a brutal attack carried out on September 8 and 9 in Ntoyo, in the parish of Saint Joseph of …

DR Congo: Church condemns massacre of young Christians in Komanda and calls for justice

Bishop of Bunia: “We need support for displaced priests.” Following the brutal attack carried out on the night of July 26-27 in the town of Komanda, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the local Church has raised its voice in condemnation and pain. The attack, which occurred at around two …

Dozens killed in another church massacre in DR Congo

Militants stormed the church during an early morning prayer vigil, killing approximately 40 people with guns and machetes. At least 40 people, including many children, were killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the early hours of Sunday, July 27. The attack took place in the east of the country, …

ACN Success Story – Chad

Self-sufficiency help for Benedictine sisters The Benedictine convent of Saint Agatha, in the village of Lolo in the Diocese of Mondou, in the south of Chad, was established in May 2005. It is the first-ever contemplative convent in this mainly Muslim country of North and Central Africa. The first Benedictine sisters to arrive in Chad …

Sudan: Priest killed by a stray bullet during rebel militia attack

Fr. Luka Jomo died last Friday in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in Sudan, during an attack by paramilitary militias on the city, which has been under siege since April 2023. Fr. Luka is the first priest to be killed during the current civil war in Sudan. “Dear fathers, sisters, and all …

ACN Project of the Week – DRC

Help for the training of 221 seminarians in the Archdiocese of Kinshasa Almost one third of all the seminarians in the world today are from the continent of Africa. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, the number of priestly vocations is gratifyingly large. In the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, for example, there are …

ACN Success Story – Equatorial Guinea

A minibus for the interdiocesan seminary Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony on the west coast of Central Africa. It is a relatively small country with an area of a little over 28,000 km² and a population of almost two million people. It has immense oil reserves and is therefore by no means one …

ACN Project of the Week – Central African Republic

An all-terrain vehicle for the Diocese of Bangassou Since June 2024, Italian Carmelite Father Aurelio Gazzera has been coadjutor bishop in the Diocese of Bangassou, a particularly difficult region in the southeast of the Central African Republic. This vast area of almost 135,000 km² is almost half the size of Italy and large parts of …