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Coronavirus

Crucifix inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Credit: Lauren Cater/CNA.

Good Friday Holy Land Collection Moved to September Due to Coronavirus

Apr 2, 2020

The Lenten Holy Land collection will be moved to September this year because of the suspension of public Masses in many places in the world due to the coronavirus, the Vatican stated Thursday.

Pope Francis offers Mass in the Casa Santa Marta April 1, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media.

Be like Mother Teresa During the Coronavirus Crisis, Urges Pope Francis

Apr 2, 2020

Mother Teresa's example should inspire us to seek out those whose suffering is hidden during the coronavirus crisis, Pope Francis said at his daily Mass on Thursday.

Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo, President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), currently being treated for COVID-19.

Church Leaders Express Solidarity with African Cardinal Being Treated for COVID-19

Apr 2, 2020

The news of the hospitalization of the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo, with COVID-19 was received with shock across the continent, with Catholic Church leaders known to the Burkinabe Prelate expressing their solidarity in messages seen by ACI Africa.

Logo of Kenya-based Ukweli TV / Ukweli TV

In Telling COVID-19 Stories, “media should be source of hope, not despair”: Kenyan Bishop

Apr 2, 2020

With the global pandemic of COVID-19 receiving unrivalled news media coverage, a Bishop in Kenya has challenged personalities behind “all the channels of communication” to strive to tell stories that give “hope and preparedness” rather than despair.

The traditional Palm Sunday Procession will be omitted in most churches across the globe as a preventive measure prescribed by the Church to avoid the spread of COVID-19

Church in Ghana to Skip Palm Sunday Procession in New COVID-19 Directive

Apr 2, 2020

With rising number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the West African nation of Ghana, Catholic Bishops in the country have directed Parish Priests to skip key liturgical observances, including Palm Sunday procession that signifies the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

Image showing an open sewer running behind numerous corrugated houses at Mukuru kwa Njenga in Nairobi, Kenya. / courtesy

Slum Dwellers at a Nairobi Parish Living One Day at a Time amid COVID-19 Measures

Apr 2, 2020

It is past noon on Tuesday, March 31 but Jane Mutiso, who has been ailing for the past six years is still lying in bed in a dark single-roomed hut that is made of corrugated iron sheets in Mukuru kwa Njenga, an expansive informal settlement on the fringes of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. Located East of the central business district, the area is served by St. Mary’s Parish under the pastoral care of the Holy Ghost Fathers, also known as the Spiritans.

Phillip Cardinal Ouedraogo, President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He tested positive for COVID-19 March 30, 2020.

SECAM President First African Cardinal known to Test Positive for COVID-19

Apr 1, 2020

The President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Phillip Cardinal Ouédraogo, has tested positive for COVID-19. The Burkinabe Prelate is the first African Cardinal known to have the virus that has infected at least 591,246 across the globe.  

The installation of Archbishop Mattew Ishaya Audu as the Local Ordinary of Jos in Nigeria that took place Tuesday, March 31 was witnessed by 50 people in line with the government’s directive to limit public gatherings in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19. / Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama

Due to COVID-19, 50-person Congregation Witnesses Installation of Nigerian Archbishop

Apr 1, 2020

The installation of Archbishop Mattew Ishaya Audu as the Local Ordinary of Jos in Nigeria that took place Tuesday, March 31 was witnessed by 50 people in line with the government’s directive to limit public gatherings in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Africa’s most populous nation.

The Late Archbishop emeritus of Nairobi, Raphael Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki who died Tuesday, March 31 in Nairobi, Kenya. / Archdiocese of Nairobi

Kenyans Pay Glowing Tribute to Late Archbishop Vocal against Injustice, Marginalization

Apr 1, 2020

Kenyans, including members of the clergy, religious men and women, lay faithful and government officials have paid glowing tribute to the Archbishop emeritus of Nairobi, Raphael Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki following his death that occured Monday, March 30.

The flag of Vatican City with St. Peter's Basilica in the background. Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNA

Vatican Flags at Half-staff in Solidarity with Coronavirus Victims

Mar 31, 2020

More than 11,500 people have died of COVID-19 in Italy after a total of 101,739 people have been documented by the Italian Ministry of Health as infected with the coronavirus.

Pope Francis lifts the Eucharist during Mass March 31, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media.

Pope Francis Prays the Church Will Welcome the Homeless During Coronavirus

Mar 31, 2020

Pope Francis prayed Tuesday for all those who do not have homes to go to during the coronavirus pandemic, that people may be aware of this reality and that the Church will welcome them.

Sr. Teresa Okure, a member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ), speaks on the theme of the Golden Jubilee of SECAM in the light of the joyful celebrations of 50 years of existence, Uganda, 2019. / ACI Africa

“Closure of churches God’s call to return to our roots to be church,” African Nun Reflects

Mar 31, 2020

An African nun who is a scripture scholar has, after interacting with people “devastated” by the reality of locked up churches occasioned by the raft of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, encouraged the people of God to adopt a learning attitude and look at the experience as an opportunity to reflect “about what it means to be church.”

President Mahamadou Issoufou addresses the nation over covid-19, March 17, 2020.

In Niger, COVID-19 will worsen “an already fragile health system”: Cleric

Mar 31, 2020

With 22 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and three deaths recorded in Niger, a Society of African Missions (SMA) Priest ministering in the country has confirmed the fears of many critics of African countries that the global pandemic, which has claimed the lives of at least 37,780 people globally, will only worsen an already fragile health system in the landlocked west African nation. 

Bishop Emmanuel Fianu, Episcopal Chairman of Health in Ghana (3rd from left) with Bishop Afrifah-Agyekum of Koforidua and other dignitaries at the launching of the 2020 World Day of the Sick and the opening of the St. Pauline Clinic at the National Catholic Secretariat, Accra on February 7, 2020. Extreme right is Fr. Lazarus Anondee, Secretary General of the National catholic Secretariat. / Damian Avevor.

Church in Ghana Appeals for Protective Gear to Aid Catholic Hospitals Battling COVID-19

Mar 31, 2020

As health facilities grapple with a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 and the increasing number of people infected with the disease, the Catholic Church in Ghana has launched an appeal inviting all Catholics to donate protective equipment and other medical supplies to support the 46 Hospitals and the 83 Clinics run by the Church under the National Catholic Health Service in the fight against the pandemic.

Police force ferry passengers to lie down after firing tear gas and detaining them in Mombasa, Kenya. / AFP

“Brutal acts add injury to people already vulnerable”: Bishops to Kenyan Police Officers

Mar 31, 2020

The brutality meted out on a section of Kenyans by police officers in their bid to enforce the dawn-to-dusk curfew put in place by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19 has caught the attention of Catholic Bishops who, while condemning the Friday, March 27 episodes, have called on security officers to act with a human face, respecting the dignity of persons.

Saint Lazare Cemetery in Sengal's Capital, Dakar.

Senegal’s Archdiocese of Dakar Modifies Schedule for Burials Amid COVID-19

Mar 31, 2020

With 162 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the West African nation of Senegal, the Archdiocese of Dakar has adjusted schedules for burials at in the two Catholic cemeteries to take place “only in the morning” to allow the staff enough time to meet a curfew deadline, one of the measures put in place to avoid the spread of the virus that has claimed at least 37,815 lives across the globe.

Nun at the prayer vigil for consecrated life in St. Peter's Basilica, Jan. 28, 2016. Credit: Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA

Six sisters from same Italian convent have died, as coronavirus spreads among religious orders

Mar 30, 2020

Six sisters in one northern Italian convent have died of coronavirus, and nine sisters are being treated in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, according to Italian media. Coronavirus is spreading among several religious houses in Italy.

Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo during the press conference in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa, Saturday, March 28, 2020.

"Let's not toy with lives of our people": Congolese Cardinal to Government over COVID-19

Mar 30, 2020

The decision to postpone a three-week lockdown of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which had been announced as one of the raft of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, has been criticized by the country’s senior Prelate who has faulted the government for taking chances with the lives of Congolese people in the face of the virus that has claimed the lives of at least 31,000 globally.

Logo Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC)

Bishops in Zimbabwe “close all Catholic Churches for public services” Over COVID-19

Mar 30, 2020

With three confirmed COVID-19 cases and one related death in Zimbabwe, Catholic Bishops in the Southern African nation on Tuesday, March 24 resolved to close all Churches in the country, to facilitate “effective self-isolation for all.”

St. Theresa's Cathedral Parish church, Catholic Archdiocese of Juba, South Sudan.

South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese Suspends Public Mass over COVID-19 in Neighboring Nations

Mar 30, 2020

In a keen adherence to the directives of South Sudan government to stop social gatherings as a measure to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 in the East African country, which is yet to record a case of the deadly virus, the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba has announced the closure of all Catholic-run institutions in the country’s only Metropolitan See.