Christians in the Middle East

The Latest

Bishop Benedictus Hanno receives the Our Lady of Persecuted Christians icon in Qaraqosh, Iraq, on Aug. 6, 2025, from Father Benedict Kiely of Nasarean.org.

English priest presents Our Lady of Persecuted Christians icon to Iraqi bishop

Aug 19, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

On the anniversary of displacement, Father Benedict Kiely presented the Mosul, Iraq, archbishop with an icon for a shrine in... Read more

Digital missionaries and Catholic influencers participate in the Mass for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers on July 29, 2025, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Middle Eastern influencers join Church’s first digital missionary jubilee

Jul 29, 2025

By Romy Haber

Meet some of the digital missionaries from the Middle East who are in Rome this week for the Jubilee of... Read more

Cars were torched in an attack on the town of Taybeh in the West Bank on July 28, 2025.

Violence continues to escalate in West Bank as settlers target Christian village

Jul 29, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

According to eyewitnesses, a group of settlers infiltrated one of the town’s neighborhoods, set two civilian vehicles on fire, and... Read more

Holy Mass at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, led by the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli during the Advent season in December 2024.

8 things to know about the only Catholic parish in Gaza

Jul 18, 2025

By Kate Quiñones

Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the Holy Family Church has been a refuge for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Here... Read more

The faithful take part in the Divine Liturgy at Our Lady of the Olive Church in Damascus, Syria, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Churches in Syria resume liturgies amid heightened security and unease

Jun 30, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

Divine Liturgies were celebrated on Sunday, June 30, in Damascus, Syria — albeit with significantly lower attendance due to a... Read more

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square, Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Pope Leo XIV expresses his closeness to persecuted Christians in the Middle East

Jun 25, 2025

By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú

“To the Christians of the Middle East, I say: I am close to you! The whole Church is close to... Read more

Mourners gather at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa, Damascus, on June 24, 2025, around white caskets of some of the worshippers who lost their lives in a terrorist attack at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria’s capital on Sunday, June 22, 2025.

Solemn farewell for victims of Damascus church bombing amid anger at government silence

Jun 25, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

Churches across Syria held funeral services for the victims of the suicide bombing that targeted St. Elias Church in the... Read more

An attack on Mar Elias Church in Al-Duwaileh, Damascus, by a suicide bomber reportedly killed 22 and injured 59 people on June 22, 2025.

Church leaders react to deadly attack on Mar Elias church in Damascus

Jun 23, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

In Syria, church leaders condemned Sunday’s terrorist act against worshippers in Damascus that resulted in 22 dead and almost 60... Read more

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Middle Eastern Christians speak: What they want from the next pope

May 5, 2025

By Romy Haber

Here is what some Middle Eastern Christians say they are seeking from the next bishop of Rome. Read more

Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb sign the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together in 2019 .

Pope Francis and the Islamic world: A legacy of dialogue and fraternity

Apr 26, 2025

By Souhail Lawand

How did Pope Francis view Islam and Muslim peoples during his time as pope? What is the position of the... Read more

A memorial for Pope Francis is set up at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral of the Coptic Catholics in Qusiya, Egypt.

‘Brother in humanity’: Church leaders in Middle East pay tribute to Pope Francis

Apr 22, 2025

By Souheil Lawand

Pope Francis is being remembered in the Middle East with tears, prayers, and gratitude. Read more

Palestinians stand on the rubble and debris of the Latin Patriarchate Holy Family School after it was hit during Israeli military bombardment in Gaza City on July 7, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.

Palestinian Christians double down on criticizing U.S. Catholic bishops on Israel, Zionism

Apr 16, 2025

By Tyler Arnold

An ecumenical Palestinian Christian organization doubled down on criticism of the USCCB this week, accusing the body of dismissing concerns... Read more

Beds sit amid the debris in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City on April 13, 2025.

Church leaders condemn Israeli military Palm Sunday strikes on Anglican hospital in Gaza

Apr 15, 2025

By Madalaine Elhabbal

The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital in Gaza, condemned the attacks “in the strongest terms” in... Read more

Thousands celebrate the beginning of Holy Week on April 13, 2025, with a Palm Sunday procession in Qaraqosh, Iraq.

PHOTOS: Nearly 20,000 celebrate Palm Sunday in Iraq’s ‘City of Hosanna’

Apr 14, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

Thousands of Christians gathered in Qaraqosh, Iraq, to welcome Christ as king and prince of peace as Holy Week began... Read more

The Association of Pilgrimages in Lebanon (APL) unveils its plans for Caminos Lebanon, an innovative project designed to revitalize Christian religious tourism through a unique pilgrimage experience inspired by the renowned Camino de Santiago in Spain, on March 28, 2025.

Lebanon will soon have its own ‘camino,’ once traveled by Christ and the Romans

Mar 30, 2025

By Marguerita Kallassy

The Caminos Lebanon project seeks to highlight Lebanon’s rich religious heritage by creating a comprehensive network of pilgrimage trails. Read more

Rody Sher, editor-in-chief of ACI MENA, speaks on the second anniversary of ACI MENA in 2024 at the Catholic University in Erbil, Iraq, where the agency is based. This year marks three years since ACI MENA began its mssion to report on the Church and the lives of Christians in the Middle East.

ACI MENA celebrates 3 years of amplifying voices of Christians in the Middle East

Mar 25, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

A service of EWTN News, ACI MENA was established in 2022 and currently operates from the Catholic University in Erbil,... Read more

“Let this cross guide you as it once guided Constantine,” said Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America upon presenting President Trump with a holy cross at the White House on March 24, 2025.

Greek Orthodox archbishop praises Trump for Middle East Christian support, gives him cross

Mar 25, 2025

By María J. Moriarty

Using Emperor Constantine’s famous vision of the cross, Archbishop Elpidophoros presented Trump with a holy cross, calling it a symbol... Read more

An unknown security guard stands at the entrance of a church destroyed during the fighting with ISIS in Mosul, Iraq.

EWTN News documentary chronicles Iraq’s Christian history and ISIS impact

Mar 1, 2025

By Georgena Habbaba

Persecuted Christians in Iraq: An EWTN News Special” delves into the roots of Christianity in Iraq and its history dating... Read more

Lebanon’s Parliament has elected Gen. Joseph Aoun to be president of the Republic of Lebanon.

Lebanon elects Gen. Joseph Aoun as president amid divided Christian bloc

Jan 9, 2025

By ACI MENA

Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday elected Gen. Joseph Aoun as the 14th president of the country after a two-year vacancy of... Read more

The papal ambassador to Jordan, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, and Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lina Annab speak at a press conference in Amman, Jordan, about the new exhibit “Jordan: Dawn of Christianity,” which will open at the Vatican on Jan. 31, 2025.

Vatican to host historic Jordan exhibition on Christianity’s origins

Jan 9, 2025

By Sanad Sahelia

The “Jordan: Dawn of Christianity” exhibit will open at the Vatican on Jan. 31 showcasing 90 artifacts. Read more

Latest news

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Villanova University Mass interrupted by ‘active shooter’ hoax

The Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington D.C.

ICE arrests take toll on DC churches

Syrian Minister of Culture Mohammed Saleh with Islamic chanter Al-Mu’tasim Billah Al-Assali inside St. Ananias Orthodix Church in Damascus, Syria. Billah Al-Assali performed an Islamic hymn with lyrics that directly contradict Christian beliefs.

Syrian minister of culture sparks controversy with Islamic chant in Orthodox church

Bernhard Scholz is president of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, also known as the Rimini meeting, which offers an extensive program of activities (political, economic, cultural, etc.) that brings thousands of people from various religions and walks of life each year during the last week of August to the town of Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

Pope Leo XIV calls for a ‘great cultural conversion’ in his greeting to Rimini meeting

James Dobson during an event marking the National Day of Prayer in the East Room of the White House on May 1, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

James Dobson, promoter of family values in the public square, dies at 89

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, speaks with “EWTN News Nightly” on March 4, 2025.

Bishop Barron warns about fake AI videos impersonating him

Flowers stand before Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025

Knock Shrine in Ireland draws pilgrims with confessions, healings, and message of hope

Pope Leo XIV prays during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13, 2025, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican.

Pope Leo XIV calls for fasting and prayer for peace on Friday, Aug. 22

The Ten Commandments outside the Texas Capitol.

Federal judge blocks Texas from displaying Ten Commandments in public schools

View of the Greek island of Syros.

Greek prosecutors charge Catholic clerics, civilians in 3 million euro embezzlement case

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Aug 21
Pope St. Pius X
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