Pope Leo XIV prays for victims of
Massacre in Benue, Sudan , Ukraine , Myanmar, Middle East,
Worried by the escalating wars, killings and violence that have claimed thousands of lives around the world, Pope Leo XIV devoted Sunday’s Homily praying for peace and peaceful coexistence in the troubled areas.
The Pope specifically prayed for victims of ‘terrible massacre’ in Benue State, Nigeria.
At the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo prays for victims of conflicts in Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, and the Middle East.
About 200 people were “brutally killed” in Yelwata, in the Guma Local Government Area of Benue state on the night of the 13th/14th June 2025 , most of them internally displaced persons “sheltered by the local Catholic mission”.
Speaking just before delivering the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for “security, justice, and peace” in Nigeria, adding that he was thinking in particular of the “rural Christian communities of the Benue State who have been relentless victims of violence”.
Responding to the attack, Amnesty International Nigeria on Saturday called on Nigerian authorities to “immediately end the almost daily bloodshed in Benue State and bring the actual perpetrators to justice”.
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