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Pope Francis talks with lawyers from the Council of Europe at the Vatican on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Criticizes "misguided notion" of the Human Person in Speech to Lawyers

Aug 22, 2023

Pope Francis on Monday decried the increasing influence of “a misguided notion of human nature and of the human person.”

Mary. Artist Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Museu da Casa Brasileira. | Wikimedia Commons.

Why the Queenship of Mary matters

Aug 22, 2023

The Catholic Church annually celebrates the feast of the Queenship of Mary on Aug. 22. I would imagine that most people, upon hearing of this celebration, would think of it as something rather sweet and sentimental, a quaint devotion for grandmothers with a taste for saccharine spirituality.

John Cardinal Onaiyekan (left) and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah (right) named in the list of 100 Most Notable Peace Icons in Africa award. Credit: Oyo Diocese/Sokoto Diocese

Nigerian Cardinal, Catholic Bishop among “100 Most Notable Peace ICONS, Africa”

Aug 21, 2023

Two Nigerian Catholic Prelates, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, have been listed among 100 Most Notable Peace Icons in Africa.

Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria van Megen. Credit: ACI Africa

Vatican Diplomat Lauds Malakal Diocese for Being “a sign of hope” to Sudan War Victims

Aug 21, 2023

The immediate former Apostolic Nuncio to Sudan has lauded the Catholic Diocese of Malakal in South Sudan, for giving hope to victims of the Sudan war that broke out on April 15.

Bishop Jean Michaël Durhône of Port Louis in Mauritius. Credit: Défi Plus

Like Jesus, Have “a shepherd’s heart”: Cardinal in Mauritius to New Bishop of Port Louis

Aug 21, 2023

Maurice Cardinal Piat has invited the new Bishop of Port Louis in Mauritius to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in his Episcopal Ministry, serving the people of God with “a shepherd’s heart”.

Archbishop emeritus Victor Abagna Mossa (right) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owando and the new Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Gélase Armel Kema. Credit: Owando Archdiocese

Pope Francis Accepts Retirement of Congo’s Owando Archbishop, Appoints Administrator

Aug 21, 2023

Pope Francis has accepted the retirement of Archbishop Victor Abagna Mossa of the Catholic Archdiocese of Owando in the Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville) and appointed an Apostolic Administrator.

Pope Francis presides over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on July 23, 2023, for the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. | Pablo Esparza/EWTN

Pope Francis Writing a Second Environmental Document after Laudato Si’

Aug 21, 2023

Pope Francis announced during an audience with lawyers Monday that he is writing a second part to his 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si’.

Pope Francis sits in front of an image of Blessed Giuseppe "Don Pino" Puglisi during a meeting with young people in the Archdiocese of Palermo, on the Italian island region Sicily, on Sept. 15, 2018. | Vatican Media.

"All the way in love": Pope Francis Praises Example of Mafia-slain Priest

Aug 21, 2023

Blessed Giuseppe “Don Pino” Puglisi “went all the way in love,” Pope Francis said in a letter published ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Sicilian priest’s death at the hands of the Mafia.

Emmanuel Kangayo, the chairman of Archdiocese of Freetown, Sierra Leone youth group at the World Youth Day in Lisbon. Credit: Emmanuel Kangayo

Pilgrim at 2023 WYD Remembers Young Sierra Leoneans Dwarfed by Drugs

Aug 21, 2023

"I have been praying for the young people in my country Sierra Leone who are wasting their lives away using drugs such as kush and tramadol, those who do not engage in any meaningful activities because they have lost hope in life," Emmanuel Kangayo tells ACI Africa, sharing how he spent his days at the just ended World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations in Portugal.

Catholic Bishops of Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province. Credit: Ibadan Archdiocese

Brain Drain among Five Issues Catholic Bishops of Nigeria’s Ibadan Province Want Addressed

Aug 20, 2023

Catholic Bishops of Nigeria’s Ibadan Ecclesiastical Province (IEP) have highlighted five issues of concern in the West African nation, region, and continent that they want addressed, including the brain drain, which they have termed “hemorrhage”.

Pietro Cardinal Parolin arrives in Rumbek Diocese. Credit: Rumbek Diocese

“Fear is driven out by perfect love”: Vatican Secretary of State to South Sudanese

Aug 20, 2023

Fear is an enemy of peace, and it makes people weak and fragile, Pietro Cardinal Parolin has said in his message to the people of God in South Sudan on the last day of his four-day visit to the East Central African country.

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama during the 5th Pan African Catholic Charismatic Renewal Congress held in Abuja, Nigeria. Credit: Abuja Archdiocese

At Pan African Charismatic Congress, Archbishop Emphasizes Power of Prayer for Africa

Aug 20, 2023

The “multidimensional challenges” that the people of God in Africa face can be tackled by prayer, accompanied by the practice of honesty, and hard work, the Archbishop of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese has said.

Logo of the Regional Conference of Major Superiors of West Africa (RECOMSWA). Credit: RECOWA

Major Superiors in West Africa Back Bishops Plea against Military Intervention in Niger

Aug 20, 2023

Members of the Regional Conference of Major Superiors of West Africa (RECOMSWA) have joined Bishops in the region in opposing any possible military interventions in the Nigerien Coup.

Pope Francis waves from a window of the Apostolic Palace during his Angelus address and prayer on Aug. 20, 2023. | Vatican Media.

Pope Francis: Christians "are invited to be open to change"

Aug 20, 2023

Christians should imitate Jesus in being steadfast — not inflexible — in their convictions, thus being open to change for the good of others, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

Pietro Cardinal Parolin during Holy Mass at Holy Family Cathedral of Rumbek Diocese. Credit: Rumbek Diocese

Vatican Cardinal Calls on South Sudanese to “abandon old ways”, Seek Reconciliation

Aug 19, 2023

The Vatican Secretary of State concluded his four-day visit to South Sudan on August 17 by calling upon the people of God in the country to abandon they old ways of war and division, and to work towards conversion in their pursuit of peace and reconciliation.

Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo (right) of Korhogo Archdiocese in Ivory Coast; Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu (left) of Zimbambwe’s Harare Archdiocese; and Bishop Lucio Andrice Muandula (center) of Xai-Xai Diocese in Mozambique. Credit: Vatican Media, ACI Africa,

Synod on Synodality: The Three Papal Nominees from Africa

Aug 19, 2023

From the full list of some 364 participants in the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality in Rome, 67 of them are from Africa. Pope Francis directly named 120 delegates, three of them from Africa.  

Sheila Pires, Secretary of the Synod on Synodality Commission for Information (on the right) makes a presentation at the delegates meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.  Credit: ACI Africa

Mozambican Journalist Appointed to Synod Commission Gearing up for Rome

Aug 19, 2023

Away from the excitement, joy and a bit of anxiety that Sheila Pires felt when Pope Francis appointed her as Secretary of the Synod on Synodality Commission for Information, the veteran Mozambican journalist is all set for the big role that awaits her at the October 4-29 meeting of Bishops in Rome.

Credit: Salesian Missions

Salesians Recount War Situation in Sudan, Seek Support to “continue” Pastoral Care

Aug 19, 2023

“When two elephants fight, the grass suffers”, an African proverb says. In the case of Sudan, the two elephants are the two army Generals, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (head of the paramilitary force, the Rapid Support Forces, RSF).

Delegates representing Africa in the October Synod on Synodality during their preparatory seminar in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: ACI Africa

African Pre-Synodal Seminar Lauded as “opportunity to set priorities” ahead of Rome Synod

Aug 18, 2023

Delegates representing Africa in the October Synod on Synodality assembly in Rome have concluded their preparatory seminar in Nairobi Kenya, describing it as timely, and an opportunity to focus on what they will be presenting at the assembly.

Bishop Paul Kariuki Njiru during the 1st Graduation ceremony of St. Francis School of Nursing in Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. Credit: Capuchin TV

“Consider your calling a noble vocation,”: Kenyan Catholic Bishop to Medical Students

Aug 18, 2023

The Bishop of Kenya’s Embu Diocese has, during a graduation ceremony, urged medical graduands to embrace their calling as a noble vocation and not a career telling them that they will be answerable to God at the end of their mission.