Sierra Leone: ACN helps Church face trauma after “senseless war”

A project supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) aims to train 150 priests to be “agents of reconciliation, healing, social transformation, and national cohesion.” Fr. Peter Konteh was in bed, asleep, when he first heard the explosions. Jumping to his feet, he called out to the other priest in the house to …

Nigeria: “Let our children go back to school”

A plea for government in northern Nigeria to rethink the sudden and unprecedented closure of schools during Ramadan has come from a bishop concerned for the hundreds of thousands of children affected. Bishop Gerald Mamman Musa of Katsina (photo) said it came as “a complete surprise” when governors in his state as well as Kano, …

Nigerian Church in pain as 21-year-old seminarian murder

The murder of seminarian Andrew Peter follows the recent killing of Fr Sylvester Okechukwu. Nigeria has had three times more kidnappings of clergy and religious in the first three months of 2025 than in the same period of 2024. (Cover photo: Pray to Christ on the cross for the suffering Church in Nigeria. Add your …

Sorrow and indignation over murder of Nigerian priest

Since 2021, at least one pastoral agent has been murdered every year in the Diocese of Kafanchan. The bishop of the Diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna State, Nigeria, has expressed his “deep sorrow and righteous indignation” over the abduction and subsequent murder of one of his priests. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu was abducted from his residence …

Priest kidnapped and murdered in Nigeria

A total of five priests and two religious sisters have been kidnapped in Nigeria this year alone. Besides Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, who was murdered, two remain missing, while the other four were released. (Cover photo: A destroyed crucifix in Burkina Faso, a country where the security situation for Christians is challenging too.) A Catholic priest …

Maiduguri: “The situation is overwhelming,” says bishop

At least 50,000 Christians have been directly affected by the flooding in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, although the actual numbers could be far higher. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has committed to helping the local diocese and is requesting donations and prayers from its benefactors. The devastating floods that have affected the northeastern Nigerian …

Cameroon – Bishop asks Europe to help slow migration by creating jobs in Africa

As the crisis of African migration to Europe deepens, those who are on the front line are issuing an urgent call to action. During a visit to the head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Bruno Ateba Edo of the Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo, in the far north of Cameroon, shared his …

Nigeria-A seminarian burned to death and another kidnapped

Aid to the Church in Need International denounces the latest attack on the Catholic Church in Nigeria, in which a seminarian was burned to death in the diocese of Kafanchan, as well as the kidnapping of another seminarian in southern Kaduna. The terrible incident took place last night, around 8 p.m., Thursday 7 September, when a …

Cameroon – A new cathedral for the Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo

Today, Saturday, July 8, this is the consecration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, in the city of Maroua—part of the Far North Region of Cameroon. This step will conclude the nine-year construction project in the heart of the Maroua-Mokolo Diocese, supported by international pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need …

Nigeria – Priest calls for the beatification of Pentecost Sunday attack victims

One year after the attack on St. Francis Xavier church in Ondo, Nigeria, none of the culprits have been brought to justice. Victims wear their scars as “badges of honour” and their faith is as strong as ever. A Nigerian priest has called for the beatification of around 40 Christians who were killed in an …