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Pietro Cardinal Parolin g with President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Monday, August 14 in Juba. Credit: Office of the President of South Sudan

Vatican Official Urges South Sudanese to Remain Committed to Peace and Reconciliation

Aug 15, 2023

The Vatican Secretary of State who arrived in South Sudan on August 14 has urged the people of God in the East-Central African country to continue working towards building a united and peaceful nation by embracing the spirit of peace and reconciliation.

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Togo. Credit: CET

After Prayers for Peace, Catholic Bishops in Togo Reaffirm Solidarity with People of Niger

Aug 15, 2023

After organizing a “triduum prayer” for peace in Niger following a July 26 military coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power, members of the Episcopal Conference of Togo (CET) have reaffirmed their solidarity with people of the West African nation.

Cardinal-Elect Stephen Brislin of Cape Town Archdiocese. Credit: SACBC

Archbishop in South Africa Condemns Violent Protests as Scores Die in Taxi Strikes

Aug 15, 2023

The Archbishop of South Africa’s Cape Town Archdiocese has condemned recent taxi strikes that turned chaotic leading to the death of at least five people, saying that protests should not be used to promote dangerous and anti-democratic activities in the country.

Pope Francis speaks to the crowd assembled in St. Peter's Square on Aug. 15, 2023, for the recitation of the Angelus on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis Calls for a "spirit of service" on Feast of Mary’s Assumption

Aug 15, 2023

Pope Francis on Tuesday urged the faithful to adopt a “spirit of service,” pointing to the example of the Blessed Mother who went in haste to help her expectant cousin Elizabeth.

Assumption of the Virgin Mary, fresco painting in San Petronio Basilica in Bologna, Italy. | Zvonimir Atletic / Shutterstock.

The Fascinating History of the Feast of Mary’s Assumption

Aug 15, 2023

On Aug. 15, Catholics around the world mark the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, commemorating the end of her earthly life and assumption into heaven.

Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin receives Pietro Cardinal Parolin upon arrival in Juba. Credit: Sudan/South Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference

Vatican Secretary of State to Meet Returnees from Sudan in Four-Day Visit to South Sudan

Aug 14, 2023

The Vatican Secretary of State has arrived in South Sudan, with the intention to meet people fleeing violence from neighboring Sudan, among other activities lined up for his four-day stay in the East Central African country.

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB). Credit: CEB

Sanctions on Niger "must be rapidly lifted or at least revised”: Catholic Bishops in Benin

Aug 14, 2023

Members of the Episcopal Conference of Benin (CEB) have called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to “rapidly” lift or revise sanctions imposed on Niger following the July 27 announcement of a coup in the country. 

Bishop  Lénard Ndjadi Ndjate. Credit: CENCO

“Receive everyone without discrimination”: Congolese Cardinal to New Bishop

Aug 14, 2023

Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo has invited the new Auxiliary Bishop of Kisangani Archdiocese in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to build his episcopal ministry around the practice of unconditional love, embracing all the people of God under his pastoral care “without distinction.”

Mons. Samuel Mbairabé Tibingar, appointed Bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Koumra in Chad on 12 August 2023. Credit: Cloche TV Tchad

Pope Francis Erects New Catholic Diocese in Chad, Appoints Pioneer Local Ordinary

Aug 14, 2023

Pope Francis has erected the Diocese of Koumra as a new Episcopal See in Chad and appointed Mons. Samuel Mbairabé Tibingar as its pioneer Bishop.

Pope Francis gives his Angelus address June 29, 2023. | Credit: Vatican News

Pope Francis: Jesus Conquers "death, sin, the devil"

Aug 14, 2023

In times of fear and difficulty, call on Jesus, who has already conquered the powers of evil, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

Maximilian Kolbe, 1939. | Public Domain.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe's Life As a Child Prepared His Path to Holiness

Aug 14, 2023

On August 14, 1941, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption, in Block 11 of the Auschwitz concentration camp, a man who had the number 16670 sewn onto his prison uniform was killed by an injection of carbolic acid. 

Nuns sing and pray during a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis near the Catholic martyrs' shrine of Namugongo, Kampala, Uganda, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2015. (photo: Andrew Medichini / AP)

The Catholic Church in Africa is a Blessing

Aug 14, 2023

When participants gather in Rome at this fall’s Synod on Synodality to reflect how the global Catholic Church can better communicate the saving love of Jesus for all humanity, a vast continental contrast in opinions will be on prominent display. And the tension can be summed up by two opposing questions.

Fr. Peter Konteh with late Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Henry Ganda. Credit: Fr. Peter Konteh/Facbook

Catholic Priest Pens Colorful Tribute to Sierra Leone’s First Native Bishop

Aug 14, 2023

Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Henry Ganda was a trailblazer whose legacy will live on among Sierra Leoneans where he was the first African Bishop, a Priest in the West African country has said in his tribute to the Church leader who died aged 91.

Bishop Bernard de Clairvaux Toha Wontacien of Djougou Diocese in Benin. Credit: Charles Ayetan/ACI Africa

Interreligious Dialogue “promising way of fostering tolerance”: Catholic Bishop in Benin

Aug 13, 2023

Interreligious dialogue is the only way to foster peace and tolerance between various faiths in Benin, Bishop Bernard de Clairvaux Toha Wontacien of Djougou Diocese in Benin has said.

Members of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province (OWEP) in Nigeria. Credit: Archdiocese of Owerri/Facebook

Nigeria Can Still Rise from the Present Pains and Liabilities: Catholic Bishops

Aug 13, 2023

All is not lost for Nigeria which just came from the 2023 general election that was marred with irregularities and violence, Catholic Bishops in the West African country have said in their message to encourage the people of God in the country not to give up in the face of challenges.

Blessed Isidore Bakanja. Credit: Order of Carmelites - Los Carmelitas - I Carmelitani

Biggest Lesson for Pastoral Caregivers in Africa from Blessed Isidore Bakanja

Aug 13, 2023

Blessed Isidore Bakanja whose feast day is August 12 teaches a lot about sacrifice, a virtue that is key for pastoral caregivers, especially Catechists.

Credit: Voice of the Martyrs Christian ministry

“Our prayers are being answered”: Entity on Release of 13 Christians from Eritrean Prison

Aug 13, 2023

At least 13 Eritrean Christians who have been in an Eritrean prison for 10 years have been released, a development that  Voice of the Martyrs Christian ministry describes as answered prayers.

Pope Francis blesses the crowd from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the end of his Sunday Angelus address Aug. 13, 2023. | Vatican Media.

"An open wound": Pope Francis Decries Thousands of Deaths in Mediterranean Sea this Year

Aug 13, 2023

Pope Francis called attention Sunday to the thousands of people who have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to immigrate to Europe in 2023.

A poster announcing Family Day in the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi in Kenya. Credit: Nairobi Archdiocese

Church Not a Company, Goes Beyond “administrative grouping”: Kenyan Archbishop

Aug 12, 2023

The definition of the Church as the family of God goes beyond an “administrative grouping” and does not operate as a company, the Archbishop of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi has said.

Sections of maize plantations belonging to Christian farmers in Udei in Nigeria's Benue state recently destroyed by Fulani herdsmen. Credit Fr Jacob Igah

Parish Battered in Nigeria's Good Friday Massacres Welcomes Farmers on the Run

Aug 12, 2023

The Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Udei Parish of Nigeria's Catholic Diocese of Makurdi has temporarily allocated parcels of land belonging to the Church to scores of families recently displaced by armed Fulani herdsmen.