Sudan
Pope Francis said “the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, is causing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences in South Sudan too” and during his Jan. 26 Angelus address renewed his appeal to those who are at war in Sudan to negotiate peace and end the hostilities.
In a March 10 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the conflict in Sudan has “caused the world’s largest and fastest-growing displacement crisis, with 12.8 million forcibly displaced.” WHO reported the country’s malnutrition rates are “among the highest globally,” with 4.9 million children under 5 and pregnant women “acutely malnourished.”
Attacks on health care facilities also contributed to the August 2024 outbreak of cholera in the north African nation that has led to 1,500 deaths out of the 55,000 cases reported, according to UNICEF.
Palestine
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The impact of the decades-long political instability and violence in Gaza and the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) — two Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967 — is a concern close to the heart of the 88-year-old pope.
Since the Oct. 7, 2023, declaration of the Israel-Hamas war, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ February 2025 report states more than 100,000 people have been injured in the conflict. According to the report at least 34,399 Palestinians — the majority of them women and children — were killed in Gaza between Nov. 1, 2023, and Oct. 31, 2024.
While undergoing complex medical treatment at Gemelli Hospital, the Holy Father continues to make a daily call to the Holy Family Church in Gaza to check in on their welfare as approximately 600 people are still seeking shelter at the parish.
During a Dec. 6, 2024, Aid to the Church in Need press conference, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, told journalists the pope’s calls are “a very big support” for the community of Gaza.
Israel
Unable to read his Jan. 9 address to the diplomatic corp earlier this year due to a persistent cold, in his prepared speech the pontiff nevertheless stressed his great desire for peace in the country, a permanent cease-fire, and the release of Israeli hostages detained in Gaza.
More than 250 Israelis were taken hostage following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. At least 1,200 Israelis were killed on the same day, according to a BBC report. The attack, which sparked Israel’s declaration of war against the extreme Islamic terrorist group, was strongly condemned by the Holy Father.
”My prayerful hope is that Israelis and Palestinians can rebuild the bridges of dialogue and mutual trust,” the Holy Father expressed in his 2025 speech. “So that future generations can live side by side in the two states, in peace and security.”
Praying for harmony and mutual respect among Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Holy Land has been a daily prayer of the pope since the early years of his pontificate. Following his 2014 pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Holy See invited former President of Israel Shimon Peres, President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, and Patriarch Bartholomew I to the Vatican for the Invocation of Peace.
Kristina Millare is a freelance journalist with a professional communications background in the humanitarian aid and development sector, news journalism, entertainment marketing, politics and government, business and entrepreneurship.