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ACI Africa

John Cardinal Onaiyekan. Credit: ACI Africa

Nigerian Cardinal Urges Election Tribunals to Hasten Mandate for Country’s Unity

Aug 5, 2023

John Cardinal Onaiyekan of Nigeria is calling upon election tribunals working on the February and March poll petitions to speed up their assignments for the West African nation to regain unity.

Pope Francis waves to World Youth Day pilgrims in Lisbon, Portugal, at the start of a vigil service on Aug. 5, 2023. | Vatican Media

At World Youth Day Vigil, Pope Francis Urges Catholics to be "roots of joy"

Aug 5, 2023

Pope Francis on Saturday urged attendees at World Youth Day to make themselves “roots of joy” in the lives of others, calling on the huge young crowd to draw on the “love of Jesus” to “walk in hope” as they journey through life. 

Archbishop Paolo Rudelli (center) is flanked by Mr. Marius Zibgwi, Fr. Reason Nyathi, Fr. Bernard Mukwewa and Mr. Albert Dhafana. Credit: Catholic Church News Zimbabwe

Nuncio Urges Zimbabwean Church to Tap from Rich History, Faith in Farewell Message

Aug 4, 2023

The Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe who was appointed in July to represent the Holy Father in Colombia has urged the Church in the Southern African country to utilize her rich history and faith for future survival in the rapidly evolving society.

Catholic Bishops in Chad. Credit: CET

Why Evangelizing Chad Remains Challenging despite Rapid Growth of Church in Africa

Aug 4, 2023

“There are many challenges,” says Sacred Heart Fr. Emile Hathouna, parish priest of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in the Chad Diocese of Lai. “The mission of evangelization is not an easy one in Chad, economically, politically, and morally. We are still carrying out primary evangelization in the country which is so demanding.” 

Trócaire's community health workers conducting health screenings in Dollow, Somalia. Credit: Trócaire

Catholic Mobile Clinic Extending Services to Somalia’s Far-flung IDP Communities

Aug 4, 2023

Trócaire, the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, is reaching out to the internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia’s hard-to-reach areas with health care services.

Pope Francis meets with charity workers at the Centro Paroquial de Serafina in Lisbon on Aug. 4, 2023. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis: Without Concrete Love, Our Lives Have "no weight"

Aug 4, 2023

At a gathering with Portuguese charity workers Friday morning, Pope Francis went off script to insist that Christian love must be tangibly lived out in the world and not remain a figment of people’s fantasies.

Young people participate in Stations of the Cross at World Youth Day in Eduardo VII Park in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis at WYD Stations of the Cross: "Jesus wipes away our hidden tears"

Aug 4, 2023

Pope Francis told the estimated 800,000 young people praying the Stations of the Cross together at World Youth Day in Portugal on Friday evening that Jesus can open the windows of the soul and wipe away all “hidden tears.”

St. John Vianney. | Herwig Reidlinger via Wikimedia Commons CC 3.0

Why St. John Vianney is a Model for all Priests

Aug 4, 2023

A century after the patron saint of priests, St. John Vianney, died on Aug. 4, 1859, Pope John XXIII reflected on the life of the saint and what it means to be a holy priest.

Pope Francis hears the confession of a young pilgrim at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 4, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Hears Young People’s Confessions in Lisbon

Aug 4, 2023

As part of the Word Youth Day celebrations this week in Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis this morning heard the confessions of three young people in the Jardim Vasco da Gama, renamed Reconciliation Park or “Forgiveness Park” for World Youth Day.

alphaspirit via www.shutterstock.com.

Prayer Appeal Sent for Missionary Priest, Seminarian Abducted from Nigerian Diocese

Aug 3, 2023

The Catholic Diocese of Minna in Nigeria has sent out a prayer appeal for the safe release of a Priest and seminarian reportedly abducted from the Diocese on Thursday, August 3.

Late Henri Konan Bédié, the former president of Ivory Coast who died on Tuesday, August 1. Credit: Henri Konan Bédié/Facebook

Catholic Schools in Ivory Coast Eulogize Former President as “a peacemaker, wise man”

Aug 3, 2023

The National Association of Catholic Schools (CCMECCI) in Ivory Coast has eulogized  Henri Konan Bédié, the country’s former president who died on Tuesday, August 1, describing him as  “a peacemaker and wise man.”

Bishop Mark Maigida Nzukwein of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Wukari. Credit: Nigeria Catholic Network

Catholic Bishop in Nigeria Decries Communal Clashes, Calls for “a breathing space”

Aug 3, 2023

The Bishop of Nigeria’s Catholic Diocese of Wukari covering the Southern Taraba Zone that is facing communal clashes has decried the conflict calling for peace as “a breathing space” to realize development in the zone.

Prior to a private meeting with survivors later in the day, Pope Francis addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal in his address during a vespers service in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023. | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Meets with Clerical Abuse Survivors, Urges Church to Hear Victims’ "anguished cry"

Aug 3, 2023

Pope Francis met with 13 survivors of clerical sex abuse on his first day in Portugal and urged the Church to listen to “the anguished cry of the victims.”

Pope Francis makes his way past crowds of thousands on his way to the World Youth Day welcoming ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 3, 2023. | Credit: Pablo Pilco/EWTN News

Pope Francis’ First World Youth Day Speech: "God’s heart beats uniquely for you"

Aug 3, 2023

At Pope Francis’ first official World Youth Day event in Portugal, he told the 500,000 young people in the crowd that their presence was no accident and that God has called each one by name.

Pope Francis and José María Del Corral, president of the Scholas Occurrentes youth movement, smile during a meeting with the group's volunteers in Cascais, Portugal, on Aug. 3, 2023. | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

"Attend to the planet and poor," Pope Francis Urges College Students

Aug 3, 2023

In his first encounters with young people ahead of his arrival at World Youth Day later in the day, Pope Francis on Thursday urged his audiences to use their knowledge and skills to care for the planet and the poor.  

Nigerian pilgrims presenting a gift to the Bishop of Fatima-Leirai. Credit: Fr. Hillary Basil/ African Synodal Digital Faith Influencers

Pomp, Colour Marks African Pilgrims Entry, Participation in WYD Celebrations

Aug 2, 2023

Most of them landed in Portugal dressed in colorful attire, a characteristic festive look of Africa.

A recent mass burial of victims of Fulani attacks in Riyom, local government area served by St. Laurence Parish of Nigeria's Catholic Archdiocese of Jos. Credit: Fr. George Barde

“We are on our own”: Christians in Nigeria Convinced Soldiers Working with Islamists

Aug 2, 2023

An incident that happened recently in Riyom Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Plateau State where Fr. George Barde had gone to conduct a mass burial of victims of Fulani attacks opened the eyes of the locals, especially Christians, to a harsh reality: that they are on their own, faced with the raging Islam jihad in the West African country.

James Nyumah, 23, from Liberia, (pictured third from left) hangs out with new friends from Australia while attending a "Rise Up" session at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, on Aug. 2, 2023. | Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Pilgrims From Liberia Overcome Travel Troubles to Attend WYD: "Being here is a miracle"

Aug 2, 2023

They made it “by the grace of God,” 36-year-old Father Ernest Wisner said about the presence of his small group from Liberia at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Pope Francis gives the homily at vespers at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 2, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis makes Urgent Call to Recover Eucharistic Adoration in the Church

Aug 2, 2023

From Lisbon, Portugal, Pope Francis on Wednesday reflected on the urgency of taking up again “the prayer of adoration” before the tabernacle to recover “the taste and passion for evangelization” in a message addressed to bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated women religious, and seminarians.

Fr. Pierre Paul Anani Dossekpli, a Togolese missionary Priest volunteering at the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD)  in Lisbon, Portugal. Credit: EWTN

WYD Volunteer to Africans in Portugal: Be a Light to your Peers back at Home

Aug 2, 2023

A Togolese missionary Priest volunteering at the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD)  in Lisbon, Portugal has challenged Africans attending the event to “be a light” to their peers when they go back home.