Nairobi, 12 September, 2025 / 11:50 PM
More people were killed in Africa for being Christian compared to other continents, according to a list compiled by the "Commission of New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith", created in 2023 by Pope Francis to research and catalog the stories of Christian martyrs from the third millennium.
According to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, the Catholic pontifical and charity foundation that supported the compilation, more than 1,600 men and women from various denominations were killed over the past 25 years for being Christian.
Of these, 643 were killed in Sub-Saharan Africa, 357 in Asia and Oceania, 304 in the Americas, 277 in the Middle East and the Maghreb, and 43 in Europe.
In the Thursday, September 11 report, ACN says that the martyrs in Africa “were mostly killed by jihadists or for the role they played in ethnic-political conflicts”.
In the report, the Deputy of the Vatican Commission and Sant’Egidio Community founder, Andrea Riccardi, says that Christians were killed for different reasons throughout the world.
He says that the number of those killed could be much higher “as martyrdom cannot be fully counted, especially in remote areas”.
In Nigeria, for instance, where Christian persecution is said to be top in the world, over 7,000 people were killed in the first seven months of this year for being Christian.
Jihadist groups killed 7,087 Christians in various parts of Nigeria, a report by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) revealed in August. Intersociety estimates that an average of 30 Christians were killed each single day in Nigeria.
According to the report that was released on August 10, an additional 7,800 people in the West African country were “violently seized and abducted” for being Christians in the same period.
Christians are killed in many other African countries because of their faith, including in places that hardly experienced religious extremism. These include Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa and Burkina Faso in West Africa.
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV has invited representatives from all Christian denominations to take part in a celebration in the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Wall this Sunday, September 14, to pay tribute to these “witnesses of the Faith” highlighted by the Vatican the "Commission of New Martyrs – Witnesses of the Faith".
The commission that comprises historians, theologians and other experts has been working since July 2023, when Pope Francis asked the members to “gather the testimonies of life, up to the shedding of blood, of these sisters and brothers of ours, so that their memory can stand as a treasure cherished by the Christian community”.
The late Pope stressed that this research should not be limited to the Catholic Church, but “extend to all Christian denominations”, adding, “To all of them we owe a great debt, and we cannot forget them”.
According to the ACN report, the commission has opted not to publish a full list of names “until it is prudent to do so”.
The Best Catholic News - straight to your inbox
Sign up for our free ACI Africa newsletter.
Our mission is the truth. Join us!
Your monthly donation will help our team continue reporting the truth, with fairness, integrity, and fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church.
Donate to CNA