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A young Iranian convert to Christianity shares his conversion story. He has been granted asylum in France after fleeing what he describes as credible threats to his life. In Iran, leaving Islam can be treated as a capital offense, and converts often face intimidation and violence.
Amid repression and secrecy in modern Iran, one man’s quiet search for truth became a courageous journey of faith. From underground house churches to the isolation of prison, his story reveals the cost and power of Christian faith.
The Assyrian-Chaldean Catholics, loyal to the Bishop of Rome, are one of the oldest Christian communities in Iran. Martyrdom and glory are part of their history.
In the Islamic Republic, the number of people converting to Christianity is significant, despite persecution by a system of “religious apartheid.” The Catholic minority (Assyrian-Chaldeans, Armenians, and those of the Latin rite) continues to “maintain a presence”. In the midst of a new war, they are praying for democracy, freedom, and peace.
In a keynote reflection delivered by Caritas Philippines President, Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza at the University of Santo Tomas, Bishop Gerry challenged the Church to confront injustices, to refuse indifference, and to truly walk with the poor moving beyond charity toward justice.
To be a Christian is more than to merely claim such with one’s words. It requires action and the lived experience of loving one’s neighbor. To do so is to live out the greatest commandment and to love God in concrete and practical ways.
Taking up Pope Francis’ desire “that all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ’s love and His summons to care for the poor,” Pope Leo XIV issued his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, as a call to Christ’s disciples “to recognize him in the poor and the suffering.”
The peculiar mix of communism and capitalism in China may be contributing to a growing interest in Christianity by a people starved of spiritual food, but the outlook for religious freedom remains bleak.
Asia is composed of very different social, political, ethnic and religious realities, and is without doubt the most religiously diverse of the continents. However, the vast majority of its countries have serious issues with religious freedom.
The vast majority of countries listed in the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Religious Freedom in the World Report saw their situation worsen over the past two years, and problems are increasing even in the democracies of the developed world.
Pope Leo’s courageous stance showed his posture as universal leader of the Church. His interventions against this war positioned him as a pastor, rather than a politician, advocating for peace and the defense of human life.
Pope Leo XIV’s 2026 travels are a summons to the faithful to be in solidarity with those who rejoice and struggle to live their faith in troubled contexts and serve those whom history and economics have marginalized.
A pressing Lenten intention could be the plight of persecuted Christians. Catholic and Protestant monitoring agencies report that 2025 has been the worst year for persecution.
The Philippines is a nation rich in resources yet burdened by inequality. Amid vast natural wealth and human potential, millions still struggle with poverty and limited opportunity. Behind this contradiction lies deep-rooted systems that shape who truly benefits from the country’s riches.
A simple meeting can become a moment of grace when hearts are open. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, we are invited beyond fear and pride into true encounter. In listening, being sincere, and loving, ordinary moments become life-changing connections.
When couples seek help from a marriage counselor, Gilda Fortunata G. Altez, today, they no longer walk into a counseling office. Instead, they connect with her through online sessions, quiet meetings in cafés, or home visits arranged when emotions have become too heavy to carry alone.
The Catholic Church here is a small, vibrant community of about 1,500 people spread across eight parishes. Cardinal Giorgio Marengo is its pastor. Although the first missionary came to Mongolia in the 13th century, but it was only in the 20th century that apostolic work bore fruit.
In the Philippines, abortion isn’t a political debate; it’s a silent tragedy born of poverty. While the West fights for rights, thousands of Filipinas risk death with Quiapo’s herbs. It’s a heartbreaking collision of rigid Catholic dogma and desperate survival.
The mission vocation is a call from God to leave one’s “comfort zone” and travel in faith-filled hope to serve others in diverse places; missionaries have much to teach us.
There is a saying: “Health is wealth.” But can everyone afford it? The people of any nation need a good program in Medical Care that works for their health and wellness, and not the kind that only burns big holes in their wallets.
Revered Fr. Augustine Mawulolo from Ghana finds himself drawn into the hands of God. During his missionary service, he oversaw the Missionary Children Society, where children learned to make rosaries. From then on, Fr. Augustine learned to love making rosaries.
Saint Joseph, through his humility, sense of justice, and complete trust in God and in the fulfillment of His will, is for us a witness of faith and a serene acceptance of God’s plan for our lives. As Pope Francis said, “Saint Joseph is a model for all vocations.”
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Published work from the World Mission Community
Published work from the World Mission Community
The articles and content from the Arpil and May 2026 Issue
The articles and content from the Arpil and May 2026 Issue
Pope Leo XIV’s 2026 travels are a summons to the faithful to be in solidarity with those who rejoice and struggle to live their faith in troubled contexts and serve those whom history and economics have marginalized.
Taking up Pope Francis’ desire “that all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ’s love and His summons to care for the poor,” Pope Leo XIV issued his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, as a call to Christ’s disciples “to recognize him in the poor and the suffering.”
To be a Christian is more than to merely claim such with one’s words. It requires action and the lived experience of loving one’s neighbor. To do so is to live out the greatest commandment and to love God in concrete and practical ways.
In a keynote reflection delivered by Caritas Philippines President, Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza at the University of Santo Tomas, Bishop Gerry challenged the Church to confront injustices, to refuse indifference, and to truly walk with the poor moving beyond charity toward justice.
The Christian remedy to narrow-minded nationalism is global solidarity. As an important principle of Catholic Social Teaching, solidarity calls us to remember that we–all people and all nations–are children of the one God who is father of all, thus making us brothers and sisters.
On the mountain of the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John witnessed Christ’s face shining like the sun and heard the Father’s voice affirming Jesus as beloved Son; such God Encounter Moments (GEMs) invite us to recognize and share divine presence.
These nuns have chosen an uncommon path. For five decades in the Philippines, their core charism is to be “contemplative in the middle of the world,” living a deeply prayerful life while remaining immersed in the daily realities of ordinary people, especially the poor and marginalized.
While other religious organizations in the Philippines, such as various Protestant denominations or the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), possess significant and loyal followings, none can match the CBCP’s specific combination of historical legitimacy, nationwide institutional presence, and broad-based authority.
In a society, a key tool for providing economic livelihood for its community members is a solid educational foundation. Born with basic human rights, people deserve access to the opportunities they are destined to experience.
Our year-long reflection on the virtue of hope reveals numerous insights from diverse sources. In this issue, we hear marvelous wisdom from three Carmelite women saints.
The 131st Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in 2026 foregrounded an unusually candid theme: care for bishops. This focus was not an exercise in clerical self-concern but an implicit acknowledgment of a deeper pastoral burden.
It began as an ordinary evening of sharing food and conversation with friends on the street. However, quietly standing among them was a woman whose presence would offer a powerful testimony of friendship. This is the story of an encounter between Comboni missionaries and homeless people.
Every Saturday, after breakfast, I would take my backpack and go to the Alto de Cazuca, located at the southwest outskirts of the capital Bogota, to carry out some activities, which I had organized for the children of that area.
Pope Leo XIV will make a ten-day Apostolic Journey to Africa and two others in Europe.
While Vatican data has recorded some growth in vocations in Africa, it has not matched the wider growth of the Church on the continent leaving some areas severely short of clergy.
The Catholic Church in Flores, eastern Indonesia, has intensified its efforts to combat human trafficking following the rescue of 13 young women who allegedly suffered exploitation at a nightclub in Sikka Regency.
The goings-on happening in the world today.
The goings-on happening in the world today.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) wants a humanitarian corridor to be established in the Strait of Hormuz to remove merchant ships stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Catholic leaders from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Oceania and Europe presented the ‘Manifesto of the Churches of the Global South for Our Common Home: Towards Peace with Creation–An Urgent Call for a Just Transition Beyond Fossil Fuels’.
The Catholic Church in Laos marked a historic milestone with the ordination of its first native Redemptorist priests, a development seen as a sign of quiet but steady growth in one of Southeast Asia’s smallest Christian communities.
Organizers of the World Youth Day 2027 have named five patron saints whose lives reflect persecution, migration, and social struggle, presenting them as guides for young people preparing for the global gathering.
The Catholic Church in Flores, eastern Indonesia, has intensified its efforts to combat human trafficking following the rescue of 13 young women who allegedly suffered exploitation at a nightclub in Sikka Regency.
While Vatican data has recorded some growth in vocations in Africa, it has not matched the wider growth of the Church on the continent leaving some areas severely short of clergy.
Pope Leo XIV will make a ten-day Apostolic Journey to Africa and two others in Europe.
The Catholic Church in Macau is celebrating the 450th anniversary of the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII in 1576, creating the diocese.
Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a special Jubilee Year coinciding with the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi.
In his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Leo XIV highlights the importance of ensuring that artificial intelligence serves the human person rather than replacing it.
In his message for the 100th World Mission Day, Pope Leo XIV writes that the Church’s identity is to be a community in mission, “at the service of fraternity among all human beings and harmony with all creation.”
Summoned by the cry of the poor and of the Earth, members of the Comboni Family gathered in Belém, Brazil, on the occasion of COP30. In the broader context of integral ecology, these were days of discernment about pathways to an ecological conversion.
The Aid to the Church in Need has released the 2025 edition of its Religious Freedom in the World Report, bringing to light the situation of ongoing discrimination and persecution around the globe.
The Philippine Catholic Church has identified seven “new martyrs” who gave their lives for the Gospel, most of them victims of persecutions in the nation’s south.
A newly opened metro station in Tehran, Iran, is named after the Virgin Mary, in what Iran’s only Catholic cardinal calls an opportunity to reflect on Mary’s example and Jesus’ message of peace and understanding.
