World

Today, on Palestinian Prisoners Day, hundreds of Palestinian children are isolated from their families in Israeli prisons where they endure torture and starvation at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Earlier this month, this cruel treatment claimed the life of 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who died in Megiddo prison after months of untreated infections, prolonged malnutrition and dehydration, and intense... Read More

Pope Francis marked Holy Thursday with a visit to Rome's Regina Coeli prison, continuing a tradition he has observed since the beginning of his pontificate: drawing close to those living behind bars. While unable this year to celebrate the liturgy of the Lord's Supper and the Washing of the Feet, as he is still convalescing from pneumonia, the Pope greeted inmates personally, offered them words o... Read More

In time for the Sacred Triduum, when we contemplate Christ's passion, death and resurrection, Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Chair of the International Affairs department of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, offers this reflection on the Holy Land. In this holiest of weeks, our hearts turn naturally to the Holy Land, the land in which Christ died and rose for the redemption of humank... Read More

Pope Francis called for prayers "for the joy of priests" during his homily at the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass in St Peter's, which was read by Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, President Emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. He said: "For us priests, the Jubilee year represents a specific summons to a new beginning on our path of conversion....we priests have our own histor... Read More

On Wednesday morning, Pope Francis received some of the physicians and staff from the Gemelli Hospital who treated him for pneumonia last month, thanking them for their hard work. A brief statement from the Holy See Press Office, said the Holy Father met the group of about 70 people from the A Gemelli Polyclinic Foundation, the Sacro Cuore Catholic University, and the Directorate of Health and Hyg... Read More

The Holy See Press Office has reported that Pope Francis' health is continuing to improve. They've announced that he has written meditations for the Good Friday Via Crucis at Rome's Colosseum. The Holy Father has been continuing his treatment, having mobility and respiratory related physiotherapy. The Pope is now able to go for long periods of time without oxygen administration, and generally onl... Read More

Foreign Secretary David Lammy addressed senior representatives from the African Union and EU nations at a summit in London to mark the two-year anniversary of the conflict today. Speaking shortly afterwards, James Wani, Christian Aid's Country Director for South Sudan based in Juba, said: "Amidst a brutal conflict, millions of people across Sudan are displaced and facing the threat of famine and d... Read More

The war in Sudan has triggered the world's largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis. Over 30 million people, more than half of Sudan's population, now require urgent assistance. Sudan and its people are left in the shadows - as the crisis continues to escalate and people struggle to survive. On 11th April 2025, coordinated ground and air attacks on Zamzam and Abu Shouk and Al Fasher, has r... Read More

Antoni Gaudí, the Catalan architect who designed La Sacrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, is among a group of people who are one step closer to being declared saints. In an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints today, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of Decrees concerning six people: a religious sister from India, Eliswa of the Bless... Read More

A group of Catholic pilgrims was detained and two Catholic priests were physically assaulted in Jabalpur in India's Madhya Pradesh State on 31 March. A bus carrying at least 50 pilgrims from Mandla District to Jabalpur for a day-long visit to churches was stopped by members of the Hindu nationalist groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Members of the mob took away the keys from the ... Read More

Haiti's growing security crisis is taking a deadly toll on the Church and civilians alike, according to a missionary Sister. Sister Helena Queijo told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that Haiti's population is "suffering greatly" because of the increased violence around the capital, Port-au-Prince. The Spiritan Sister - who left Haiti two weeks ago after nine years ministering there - said that pe... Read More

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa delivered the following message during the Palm Sunday Procession in Jerusalem today: "Hosanna to the Son of David. blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. hosanna in the highest." (Mt 21:9) Dearly beloved, May the Lord give you peace! I greet to all of you here, faithful of our diocese, the few pilgrims present. I also send greetings to those who are no... Read More

Pope Francis appeared in person briefly after the Palm Sunday Mass of the Lord's Passion, celebrated in a sunny Saint Peter's Square, to greet the crowd of more than 40,000 pilgrims. In his homily, read out by Argentinian Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Vice Dean of the College of Cardinals, the Pope called on us all to reflect on the Lord's compassion that knows no limits, "how we are meant to carry o... Read More

Airstrikes by the regular army have destroyed another Catholic church in Chin, Myanmar's only Christian-majority state, marking yet another tragic chapter in country's ongoing civil war between the military junta and resistance forces that continues to severely impact Christians and their places of worship. The Church of Christ the King in the town of Falam, part of the Diocese of Hakha, was hit ... Read More