Faith

Maureen Crowley
Heil

In his remarks after a recent Angelus, Pope Leo XIV said, "It is with sorrow and concern that I learned of the recent attacks against various communities in Nigeria leading to a heavy loss of life." He expressed his "prayerful closeness to all the victims of violence and terrorism" in Nigeria.
The Holy Father was referring to the ongoing spiral of violence, kidnappings, and attacks spread across large areas of Nigeria. The latest was in Karku, located in the northwestern part of the country. During the night of February 6, a group of armed men attacked the town, killed three men, and kidnapped eleven others, including the pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, Father Nathaniel Asuwaye.
Fides News Agency reports that, in recent days, similar attacks in that area have resulted in three deaths and forty kidnappings.
According to a report released by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, between 2015 and 2025, 212 priests have been kidnapped in Nigeria. Of those, 183 were released or escaped, twelve were killed, and three later died from injuries received while held captive.
These abductions take place amidst a larger crisis in the country: mass kidnappings of school children.
The seizure of people for ransom has become a small criminal industry in Nigeria. Priests and children are regular targets -- they are easy to identify, are generally unprotected, and taking them causes an outcry that is more likely to produce the paying of ransom.
In the midst of this, one may assume that seats in the seminary and the pews in Catholic churches would be empty for fear of threats.
A recent survey from Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) shows that 94 percent of Nigeria's 30 million Catholics report going to Mass weekly or more. Compare that to 17 percent of Catholics in the United States. Nigeria also has one of the largest numbers of men studying for the priesthood in the world and is home to the world's largest seminary: The Bigard Memorial Seminary -- named for the founder of our Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle.
Last year, our Pontifical Mission Societies supported the growth of the Church in Nigeria by building churches, funding health clinics, and educating children, catechists, and seminarians. It seems we only hear about the bad things happening in Nigeria. Because of the deep faith of Nigerian Catholics and the help of our donors, there is so much good happening that, the bad notwithstanding, churches and seminaries are packed. It's worth watching to find out why.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.

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