Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire in Lebanon

 

A Catholic priest in Lebanon has been killed after an Israeli artillery tank fired on a house. 

Father Pierre El Rai, 50, was attempting to help parishioners in Qlayaa as their house was fired upon by the IDF tank. While in the house, the tank opened fire again and Father El Rai was injured.

According to Aid to the Church in Need, Father El Rai later died in hospital as a result of his wounds.

Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai, head of the Maronite Church, which is in full communion with Rome, said Fr El Rai “gave his life as a testament to love and devotion to his priestly mission”.

He called for a return to diplomacy.

“The martyrdom of a priest dedicated to the service of God and his people, steadfast in his pastoral mission alongside the faithful in times of hardship, is a profound wound in the heart of the Church," he said. 

"It reveals once again the tragedy for which innocents pay the price in the cycle of violence and wars, against which we have long warned, urging everyone to keep our nation out of its tragedies and to embrace negotiation, dialogue, and diplomacy.”

The Patriarch also issued a condemnation of “every attack targeting civilians, religious figures, places of worship, homes, institutions and every inch of our homeland”.

The recent escalation of hostilities between Israel, Iran, the US and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group has threatened the lives of Christians in the region.

Last week an Iraqi Christian community was hit by a drone attack. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured as the buildings affected had already been evacuated. While it is not confirmed who carried out the attack, it is suspected to have been an Iranian drone targeting a nearby US base or the airport.

The latest incident is not the first time Christians have been hit by IDF fire.

During the Gaza conflict, Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in the territory was hit by Israeli ordnance, killing three people and wounding the priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Earlier in the conflict two women taking refuge in the church were killed by Israeli sniper fire.

 

Archbishop of Canterbury to embark on historic six-day pilgrimage

The Archbishop of Canterbury will undertake a six-day pilgrimage before she is installed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury later this month. 

The London to Canterbury pilgrimage has been described as the first journey of its kind by a new archbishop in modern times.

 

The 140km walk will begin on Tuesday and end on Sunday 22 March, just days before her installation at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 25 March. The timing has drawn some criticism from pro-lifers as it falls over an important vote in the House of Lords on removing criminal penalties for women aborting their unborn baby at any stage in the pregnancy. 

The pilgrimage is intended to help prepare herself spiritually for her public ministry in the Church of England and across the Anglican Communion.

Dame Sarah, who was recently formally confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul’s Cathedral, will travel the Becket Camino from St Paul’s to Canterbury Cathedral with her husband, Eamonn.

The route will take in sections of the Thames Path, the Via Britannica and the Augustine Camino, echoing both the ancient tradition of pilgrimage to Canterbury and her own move from Bishop of London to Archbishop of Canterbury.

During the journey, she will attend Morning and Evening Prayer services at churches, cathedrals and abbeys, while also gathering with other pilgrims, visiting schools and spending time with ecumenical groups. In a statement, Archbishop Mullally said she was keen to meet and pray with them as well as hear their stories.

Stops include Southwark Cathedral, Rochester Cathedral, Lesnes Abbey, Aylesford Priory and the Shrine of St Jude in Faversham.

Dean of Canterbury David Monteith and members of the cathedral chapter will join the final leg from Chartham into Canterbury, with the Archbishop due to reach the cathedral in time for Evensong on Sunday.

Pupils at Ospringe Church of England Primary School in Faversham created a pilgrim’s passport for the journey and prayer cards carrying a prayer written by pupils from The Archbishop’s School in Canterbury will also be handed out during the walk.

Archbishop Mullally said: “As I prepare for my installation at Canterbury Cathedral, it feels deeply humbling to be following in the footsteps of those who have walked this ancient route.

“As I walk this path I will be praying for our Church and our world, and asking God to bless those we meet. Every Christian life is a pilgrimage - a journey with God. As I begin this new chapter in my own life and ministry, I am grateful to be walking with God and with others.”

Pilgrim Officer at Canterbury Cathedral Torin Brown said: “Pilgrimage is a wonderful outward encounter with new places and people, but for me the inward journey of spiritual improvement is equally inevitable to such an endeavour, and so it is a great privilege and honour to have the opportunity to accompany Archbishop Sarah as she prepares for her new role with humility and grace, by walking a camino to Canterbury.”

Chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Richard Braddy, said the walk would help root the coming installation in prayer and encounter, adding that churches, schools and others along the route would be joining in.

He said daily themes and prayers would also be shared on social media so that others could take part prayerfully during the pilgrimage.

“I am looking forward personally to take time to experience God’s presence on this pilgrimage, to deepen my journey as a disciple of Christ, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit see what conversations unfold as we encounter people on the way," he said.

The pilgrimage comes shortly after Dame Sarah’s formal confirmation at St Paul’s Cathedral, where she raised the Primatial Cross, symbolising the authority of the Primate.

Her appointment follows a lengthy vacancy in the office after Justin Welby stepped down more than a year ago.

Her installation on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, will mark the symbolic beginning of her ministry as diocesan bishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England.

The service, rooted in centuries of tradition, is expected to reflect both the historic role of Canterbury and the contemporary diversity of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.

 

Baptist seminary provides refuge to people displaced in Lebanon

 

(Photo: Facebook/ Arab Baptist Theological Seminary) 

The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary near Beirut is sheltering displaced people who fled their homes as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces hundreds of thousands of civilians across Lebanon to seek refuge.

About 170 internally displaced people are staying on the seminary’s campus while the institution continues its educational work online for roughly 250 students, the Southern Baptist Convention's news service, Baptist Press reports, quoting the seminary's president, Wissam Nasrallah.

Israel’s military campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has forced large-scale civilian movement across the country.

The seminary, located on the eastern outskirts of Beirut in an area considered relatively safe, is providing food, housing and other basic necessities while staff attempts to balance emergency relief with the school’s long-term mission of training Christian leaders from across the Middle East.

The displaced people staying at the campus come from southern Lebanon, the Bekaa region and suburbs of Beirut, and about a quarter of them are children, according to Evangelical Focus.

Residents gathered at the campus help kitchen workers prepare meals and attend daily community chapel services organized during the crisis, while the sounds of drones and bombing can still be heard across the region.

The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary trains Christian leaders from across the Arab world. The institution was founded in the late 1950s by Southern Baptist missionaries and now operates under THIMAR, the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development. Baptist partners in the United States continue to support its work.

The conflict escalated after Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on March 2, saying it was responding to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, triggering an extensive Israeli bombing campaign against the Lebanese armed group and a new wave of displacement across the country, according to Reuters.

Over 700 people have been killed and 1,774 others injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the fighting began, and at least 26 medics and first responders are among the dead, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets across the border into Israel.

Israel has warned that it may target ambulances and medical facilities if they are used for military purposes by Hezbollah, a claim the group denies, in a development that has raised concerns because hospitals and medical infrastructure are protected under international law unless they lose protected status through military use.

The fighting has forced about 800,000 people to flee southern Lebanon in roughly 10 days, and about one-fifth of the country’s population of around 4 million is now displaced by the violence.

Israel has also expanded its military posture along the northern frontier and signaled it is preparing for a prolonged campaign against Hezbollah, while Israeli aircraft dropped warning leaflets over Beirut, threatening damage similar to the devastation seen in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for a ceasefire agreement and Israeli support for the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah, accusing the armed group of risking the destruction of villages and threatening the stability of the Lebanese state.

Christians make up about 30% of Lebanon’s population, roughly 1.2 million people. Evangelical believers account for about 1% of the population, around 40,000 people.

Among those displaced are members of the Baptist Church in Deir Mimas, a congregation located near the Lebanon Israel border whose members fled north as bombardment intensified in the south.

 

‘Convert or die’: Nigerian Christians face Islamist ultimatums

 

In this photo released by Christian Association of Nigeria, a man walk past belongings at the St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community, 

Armed militants attacking Christian communities in Nigeria are increasingly issuing a stark ultimatum to villagers: Convert to Islam and pay a religious tax known as jizya or face execution, according to eyewitness accounts collected by The Washington Times and international religious-freedom monitors.

Accounts of conversion threats surfaced after fighters linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province killed at least 25 Christians and burned homes during a February attack in Madagali County in Nigeria’s northeastern Adamawa State.

The assault drew international attention when U.S. Rep. Riley Moore cited the killings as evidence that Nigerian Christians are being targeted for their faith. “ISIS-West Africa is slaughtering Christians and telling other Christians they must convert or die,” the West Virginia Republican wrote in a statement posted on X. “Christians continue to be explicitly targeted for their faith in Nigeria.”

 

UK Lawmakers Urge Starmer To Confront Tinubu Over Killings Of Nigerian Christians

 

UK lawmakers urge Starmer to press Tinubu on killings of Nigerian Christians during first state visit in decades. 

The United Kingdom’s lawmakers have urged their Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to confront President Bola Tinubu over the killing of Nigerian Christians while the Nigerian president is in the UK for a state visit.

President Tinubu, who will be accompanied by his wife, Oluremi, will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, where they will attend a state banquet as guests of honour.

Tinubu will then travel to Downing Street to meet with Prime Minister Starmer on Thursday, marking the first state visit by a Nigerian president in 37 years.

However, the Daily Mail UK reported that MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB) have written to the Development Minister, Baroness Jenny Chapman, calling on the government to pressure Tinubu to protect human rights in his country.

Nigeria ranks as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians, following prolific coordinated attacks by terrorist groups, such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province.

According to Daily Mail UK, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Jim Shannon, who is the group’s chairman, said Nigeria must “take concrete steps to prevent the harassment, persecution and killing of Christians, while ensuring that perpetrators are investigated and prosecuted”.

The group of 209 MPs and peers expressed concern that the Nigerian state had failed to treat the attacks with the required seriousness.

They demanded the government shed light on the case of Leah Sharibu, who was one of the 110 schoolgirls kidnapped in 2018.

APPG FoRB also urged Starmer to ensure that human rights obligations become fundamental to all future diplomatic, security, and trade discussions.

It requested a response from Baroness Chapman before the state visit.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, may also pressure Mrs. Tinubu on human rights as she hosts the Nigerian First Lady at Lambeth Palace on Thursday.

Mrs. Tinubu, a Christian pastor, will attend a prayer service and be invited to preach, while her husband is Muslim.

She will also join representatives from the Church of England and faith charities that have provided support in Nigeria, such as Christian Aid, at a reception at Lambeth Palace.

 

Christian slain, wife and four others abducted in Nigeria

Suspected Fulani terrorists on Wednesday (March 11) killed a Christian and kidnapped five others in western Nigeria, sources said.

 

Ilorin Train Station, Kwara state, Nigeria. 

John Omoniyi Ajise was killed in the attack in Oyatedo village, in the Irepodun area of Kwara state, and his wife and four other Christians were kidnapped, according to a press statement from the Rev. Samuel Adewumi and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Agboluaje, chairman and secretary respectively of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Kwara state.

Omoniyi Ajise was the brother of ECWA Vice President the Rev. Sunday Stephen Ajise.

The attack was the latest of several cases of killing and kidnappings of Christians, Adewumi and Agboluaje said

“Many pastors are now without congregations, while members and residents have been compelled to flee their homes,” the church leaders said. “Economic activities have been severely disrupted, and many families have been pushed into hardship.”

They issued the statement after a joint meeting of all leaders of ECWA Districts Church Councils of  Ilorin, Omu-Aran, Igbaja, Oro-Ago and Fate-Tanke in Kwara state.

The church leaders cited two other Christians previously kidnapped in Ahun village, another predominantly Christian community, identified only as Dada and Ishola.

Police in Kwara state have acknowledged a series of attacks and said efforts were underway to  curb them.

“You know the command is not resting on its oars,” Kwara State Police Command spokesman Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “The Inspector General of Police visited Kwara state, and he promised to ensure banditry in the state would be a thing of the past. We also made some arrests recently, and those suspects will be charged in court soon after the conclusion of investigation.”

More Christians were killed in Nigeria than in any other country from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2025, according to Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List. Of the 4,849 Christians killed worldwide for their faith during that period, 3,490 – 72 percent – were Nigerians, an increase from 3,100 the prior year. Nigeria ranked No. 7 on the WWL list of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report.

“They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity,” the APPG report states.

Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds.

In the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, Islamic extremist Fulani militia attack farming communities, killing many hundreds, Christians above all, according to the report. Jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and the splinter group Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), among others, are also active in the country’s northern states, where federal government control is scant and Christians and their communities continue to be the targets of raids, sexual violence, and roadblock killings, according to the report. Abductions for ransom have increased considerably in recent years.

The violence has spread to southern states, and a new jihadist terror group, Lakurawa, has emerged in the northwest, armed with advanced weaponry and a radical Islamist agenda, the WWL noted. Lakurawa is affiliated with the expansionist Al-Qaeda insurgency Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, originating in Mali.

 

Christians Remain the Most Persecuted Religious Group Globally, Archishop States

Globally, Christianity remains the most persecuted religion, with hundreds of millions facing violence and discrimination, prompting a UN representative to call for strengthened governmental protections for religious freedom.

 

The Holy See’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva is urging governments to strengthen protections for religious freedom as Christianity remains the most persecuted religious group worldwide.

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, spoke at an event titled\“Standing with Persecuted Christians: Defending the Faith and Christian Values” on March 3, where he noted that hundreds of millions of Christians are persecuted for their faith, The Christian Post reported.

“Almost 400 million Christians worldwide face persecution or violence, making them the most persecuted religious community in the world,” he said. “This means that one in seven Christians is affected.”

He also cited several figures, including the fact that nearly 5,000 Christians were killed for their faith in 2025, an average of around 13 deaths each day. He added that over 760 anti-Christian attacks occurred in Europe in 2024, plus 2,211 recorded incidents involving legal action against individuals for activities like silent prayer or quoting scripture that same year, as reported by the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe.

The archbishop contended that governments are responsible for protecting freedom of religion for believers.

“It is the State’s duty to protect freedom of religion or belief,” he said.

Archbishop Balestrero also stated that freedom of religion is a fundamental human right recognized in international law. He added that the government must protect believers and not prevent them from practicing their faith both publicly and privately.

The archbishop concluded his address by describing that Christian persecution is ultimately an attack on the deeper spiritual and social values represented by the cross. He argued that protecting freedom of religion not only protects believers “to respond freely to the call of truth,” but it also preserves human dignity and social harmony.

Additional sources have also supported the rampant persecution of Christians around the globe.

The Open Doors World Watch List 2026 found that 388 million Christians currently face severe persecution and discrimination, up 8 million from the previous year.