Africa

Mary’s Meals makes sure Zambian school kids are fed despite devastating floods.

As deadly floods devastate southern Africa, Pope Leo XIV offers prayers for victims while Catholic bishops urge international support for thousands affected by the climate change-related disaster that has killed hundreds and displaced thousands since late December.

As fears of a return to full-scale war in South Sudan escalate, Catholic bishops in the country have reiterated their call for peace and dialogue, warning that directing forces to 'spare no lives' is a direct call to genocide amid fighting and mobilization in parts of the country.

Following the liberation of all the children and staff abducted from St. Mary's School in the Nigerian town of Papiri, the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, who manage the school, have expressed deep gratitude for the support received during the trying period.

Nigerian Catholic priest Fr. Oliver Ortese characterized the U.S. military airstrikes on Islamic State terrorist targets in Sokoto state on Christmas Day as “Christians being freed from bondage.”

The U.S. has carried out a deadly Dec. 25 strike in northwestern Nigeria, with President Donald Trump stating the attack targeted Islamic State group terrorists who persecuted Christians in that nation.

Catholics in northwestern Nigeria are celebrating just days before Christmas, as the last group of students kidnapped from St. Mary's Catholic School in Papiri has been freed.

A Catholic bishop in South Sudan appealed for peace, respect of human life and the protection of civilians in Sudan, as the town of Kalogi, South Kordofan region, reeled from the deaths of over 100 people killed in drone strikes.

During the Nov. 23 Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV appealed for the release of over 300 children and teachers abducted from a Catholic school in central Nigeria.

The Diocese of Auchi, Nigeria, announced the death of a young seminarian who, along with two fellow seminarians, was kidnapped by bandits in July.