The 2024 list of kidnappings is headed by Haiti Photo: ACN

The 50 Countries that Persecute Christians the Most Today and The Role of Communism and Islamism

in 2024, 4,476 Christians were killed because of their faith, 4,744 were imprisoned for religious reasons and 7,679 Christian churches and properties were attacked. On average, one in seven Christians is persecuted worldwide, a situation suffered by one in five Christians in Africa and two in five Christians in Asia.

Vocations grow in Burkina Faso despite terrorism

Almost 40% of the young men at the inter-diocesan philosophy seminary come from dioceses in the “red zone” which are badly affected by terrorism. Despite all the difficulties, the number of seminarians in the country continues to grow. Just at St Peter and St Paul, the number of seminarians has increased from 254 in the 2019-2020 academic year – when terrorism began to affect the Church in Burkina Faso – to 281 for 2024-2025.

Murder of young Suleman Masih shocks Christian community in Pakistan

According to information provided to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by the Pakistani priest, Fr Lazar Aslam OFM, Suleman Masih was a very hardworking and entrepreneurial young man. He began his journey collecting waste materials and with a lot of efforts eventually acquired agricultural machinery to work on wheat and rice fields. Over the past year, he achieved considerable success, managing 25 acres of land and owning a vehicle.

How many missionaries were killed in 2024? List released

From 2000 to 2024, a total of 608 missionaries and pastoral workers were killed. As the information on their biographies and the circumstances of their deaths shows, the missionaries and pastoral workers killed were not in the spotlight, but worked to bear witness to their faith in everyday life, not only in contexts marked by violence and conflict