Relieve the Pain of Catholics in
BURKINA FASO
You are indispensable to the Church in Burkina Faso. Three thousand people have lost their lives and around two million displaced people have lost everything since an unprecedented nightmare of jihadist violence began in 2015.
The Church in Burkina Faso needs you to face a huge humanitarian crisis and the terror of religious persecution of Christians.
Burkina Faso: Church Persecuted, with you it will not give up
Meet this invisible and indispensable Church
The Church of Burkina Faso is a Church invisible to the world, a Church that faces the coming Christmas with much suffering: thousands and thousands of Christians are persecuted and live as displaced persons in their country. But they do not lose faith and hope in this Jesus who is born, and in generous-hearted people like you.
The Catholic Church in this country in the Sahel region of the Sahel, welcomes and embraces the poorest and most helpless by the jihadist violence. And always without distinction of creed, treating all as children of God who need the help of the universal Church; giving them the physical and spiritual nourishment they need, the word of comfort and accompaniment so as not to faint in the midst of so much pain.
Priests, nuns and catechists cannot if you do not help them. They need the means to feed their people, educate the children and attend to the pastoral care of the displaced.
Statue of the Virgin vandalized. Desecration in the Parish of Tansila, Diocese of Nouna.
Did you know that Burkina Faso is one of the worst countries in the world to live our Christian faith?
According to the World Religious Freedom Report 2023, the factors favoring insecurity in Burkina Faso are: poverty, corruption, weak state structures, disenfranchised youth, violence between communities, such as pastoralists and farmers.
Focused on counterterrorism, the authorities have thwarted several attacks, but are also responsible for abuses against civilians. They have been slow to respond to the extremist crisis and are unable to address the problems that fuel jihadist recruitment. Terrorist attacks also create the right conditions for IDPs to remain internally displaced in the long term.
In this “apocalyptic” context the Church becomes the “flagship” moving forward in the midst of this dark storm. The Catholic Church in this country needs your support to sustain and restore hope to such a traumatized population.
The persecuted and displaced Church in Burkina Faso needs you:
Humanitarian aid projects for displaced persons
To restore hope in God to those who have lost everything, you must first help them strengthen their bodies with food, medicine and shelter, and then nourish their souls with the comforting word of God’s compassionate heart.
By supporting displaced people like Françoise and Christophe, you will help ensure their survival, alleviate their suffering and restore their hope and dignity.
The Church in Burkina Faso needs you to pay for food and medicine.
Scholarships for children to study in Catholic schools
Since 2018, some 1,300 schools have had to close across the country. The Catholic Church in Burkina Faso is aware that education is a fundamental pillar for the future of a free and peaceful society.
For this reason, it has launched several initiatives to promote schooling in Catholic schools for displaced children and young people in various parts of the country.
Ensuring proper formation through the Catholic Church, so that Burkinabe children and young people can look to the future with hope, is essential.
By supporting education, you will enable children and young people to build a future for themselves and contribute to building the Burkina Faso of tomorrow.
Support for the pastoral care of displaced persons
Despite the dramatic consequences of terrorism in Burkina Faso, the faith and trust of Christians in God remains unshaken. In spite of everything, the Church faces an immense challenge: to continue its pastoral work, more necessary than ever, in very adverse conditions and without material means. Can you help them?
The committed laity, in many cases, have also lost everything and are subject to religious persecution. The priests in Burkina Faso devote themselves tirelessly every day to serve the people who have lost everything. They also do not have what they need for their personal sustenance.
The Church in Burkina Faso needs to take care of its pastoral workers and their families so that they can continue to evangelize.
Their safety and future depend on you. Don’t leave them alone.
P. OLIVIER LOMPO
“Christians now believe more. Everything has been taken away from them, their house, their property, even their loved ones, but they have the most important things left: faith, hope and charity.”
Moment of the attack on the parish of Dablo
May 12, 2019 is a date that Father Olivier Lompo will never forget. That day he was outside his parish and the vicar was presiding over the celebration of Holy Mass.
At that moment, dozens of armed men burst in violently and the vicar managed to get the community of faithful gathered there to safety, however Yampa Siméon (vicar of the parish) was killed.
Men and women were kidnapped and everything went up in flames… In addition, five other very committed parishioners of the parish were killed. At the end of their massacre, the terrorists left and went to the center of the village, where they continued to burn and sow violence….
Shortly afterwards, Father Olivier received a call telling him everything that had happened. He could not believe it. But another piece of news was waiting for him: the terrorists had come for him. The priest had to leave everything behind and seek refuge far from his village and his diocese: life would never be the same for him again.
Burkina Faso is going through an extreme situation of violence and suffering, yet the faith of the Church remains unshaken.
Donate today. Every bit of help, no matter how small, can make a big difference in the lives of persecuted Christians, but DON'T FORGET.
Together we can help our fellow Catholics in Burkina Faso to recover and keep their faith in Christ alive.
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