Tuesday, December 30, 2025 - Seventeen missionaries were killed across the globe in 2025, 10 of whom died in Africa, five of which in Nigeria, according to the Fides News Agency, a service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
As the year draws to a close, and with it the Jubilee of
Hope, Fides released its annual report on December 30, reporting the deaths of
missionaries and pastoral workers across the world.
Every year, Fides highlights the stories of priests,
religious, seminarians, and laypeople who dedicate their lives to serving
Christ and the Church, often in contexts marked by violence, poverty, and
injustice.
According to the 2025 report, 10 priests, 2 seminarians, 2
catechists, 2 religious sisters, and 1 layman lost their lives. This year
marked an increase in deaths compared to 2024, when 14 missionaries were
killed. From 2000 to 2025, Fides has accounted for the deaths of 626
missionaries or pastoral workers.
The 2025 report
underlines that it takes into account a broad definition of 'missionaries,'
saying it includes all Catholics who are involved in some way in pastoral
activities and are killed in violent circumstances, whether or not their deaths
met the strict criteria for martyrdom.
The African continent
remains one of the most dangerous continents for missionary work, with 10
deaths in 2025.
Of these, 6 of those
killed were priests, 2 were seminarians, and 2 were catechists. The countries
affected were Burkina Faso, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Nigeria, which
account for half of the deaths.
In an interview with
Fides, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for
Evangelization, who is Nigerian, said, “All of this is a source of profound
sadness” and “also a bit of shame.”
“Nigeria is one of the
countries with the most religious population in the world: a nation of
believers, Christians, and Muslims. We all claim to be people of peace,” he
insisted.
The archbishop said he
hopes to see the Muslim population also “denounce and reject the use of their
religion to commit acts of violence.”
“We must all reject any
justification for using religion to perpetrate violent acts, even to the point
of taking people's lives,” he continued.
In the interview,
Archbishop Nwachukwu highlighted that these Christians did not die trying to be
heroes but were struck by violence in their daily lives, such as in seminaries
or schools.
He emphasized that the
Nigerian government should do more to defend and protect innocent people and
improve the security situation in the country.
The Fides report mentions
how another continent which has often topped this “tragic ranking” in the past
is the Americas.
After Africa, it is the
region most affected this year, with 4 missionaries being killed in 2025, 2
priests in Mexico and the United States, and 2 religious sisters in Haiti.
In Asia, one priest in
Myanmar and one layman, a teacher in the Philippines, lost their lives. Lastly,
in Europe, one priest was killed in Poland.
Among the stories
underlined by Fides is that of the young Nigerian seminarian, Emmanuel Alabi,
who died in July during a forced march imposed on him by his kidnappers, who
had attacked the minor seminary in Ivianokpodi and wounded him.
They also mention the
story of religious sisters Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, both of whom
belonged to the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, who
murdered in March by armed gang members in Haiti.
Lastly, Fides highlights
Father Donald Martin, the first Burmese Catholic priest killed in the conflict
that has plagued Myanmar. His lifeless and mutilated body was found in February
by several of his parishioners in the church complex.
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