Asia

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  24 April 2025
  ASIA/CHINA - Announcement on the website of the “Catholic Church in China” and the Patriotic Association: “Pope Francis has returned to the Father's house” Beijing (Fides Agency) - “Pope Francis returned to the Father's House on April 21, 2025, at 7:35 a.m. in the Residence of Santa Marta, at the age of 88. We pray that, thanks to God's mercy, Pope Francis may enjoy etern ...
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  24 April 2025
  ASIA/CAMBODIA - Young Cambodians attracted to Jesus were baptised during Easter Vigil Phnom Penh (Fides Agency) - “There are many non-Christians who, driven by curiosity or desire, attend our churches every Sunday. And among them, there are those who ask to begin the journey of preparation for baptism,� ...
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  24 April 2025
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Minister of Religious Affairs, former imam of Istiqlal Mosque: “Francis, one of my dearest friends” Jakarta (Agence Fides) - The photo of the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque, Nasaruddin Umar, bending down to tenderly kiss the head of Pope Francis in his wheelchair - during his trip to Indonesia in September 2024 - is ...
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  23 April 2025
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Muslim leaders: “Francis, a vibrant voice of peace and brotherhood” Lahore (Fides Agency) - “Pope Francis has always been a vibrant voice of peace, brotherhood, and unity,” said Muslim and Christian leaders during a special prayer meeting organized on April 22 by Father Asif Sardar, ...
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  23 April 2025
  “For me, Pope Francis has been a father who listens” by Louis Raphael Sako* Baghdad (Fides Agency) - Pope Francis was a phenomenon. I have known other Popes, but Francis was different. His simplicity, spontaneity, humanity, and spirituality were very moving to me. ...
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  22 April 2025
  ASIA/INDONESIA - Masses and vigils: Indonesian Catholic community unites in prayer for Pope Francis by Father Luigi Galvani M.I.* Jakarta (Fides Agency) - The news of Pope Francis' death has caused deep emotion among Indonesian Catholics, who remember him with affection and gratitude for his pastoral commitment and ...
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  21 April 2025
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Father Faltas remembers Pope Francis: The power of meekness, the courage of Love by Father Ibrahim Faltas ofm* Jerusalem ( Fides Agency) - We were in Emmaus when Pope Francis left us. We were remembering the living presence of the Risen One when the Holy Father joined him. The news of his death le ...
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  21 April 2025
  ASIA/CHINA - Chinese Catholic community pauses in prayer for Pope Francis: Rosaries and Masses for the Pontiff Beijing ( Fides Agency) - The announcement of Pope Francis' death reached China in the late afternoon. Local media gave the news great prominence, repeating the Pope's words about his love for China and the Chinese Catho ...
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  17 April 2025
  ASIA/MALAYSIA - More than two thousand young people and adults will receive baptism at the Easter Vigil Kuala Lumpur (Agenzia Fides) - The Gospel attracts young people and adults seeking baptism in Malaysia: according to official communications from the local Church, the Catholic community in Malaysia will welcome more tha ...
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  16 April 2025
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Easter in the Jubilee Year: a celebration of faith and hope Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – “The spirit of the Resurrection shines brightly despite the shadows of discrimination and marginalization affecting Christians in Pakistan. From the bustling cities of Lahore and Karachi to t ...
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  16 April 2025
  ASIA/LEBANON - The mission of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles and the new hopes of the Lebanese people Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - After five consecutive years of crises, many Lebanese are beginning to harbor hope for a new era for the Land of the Cedars, prompted by the election last January of a new President of the Republ ...
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  15 April 2025
  ASIA/PHILIPPINES - The nation consecrates itself to Divine Mercy: a "collective response of faith and hope" Manila (Agenzia Fides) – In a context of growing social and political polarization, the Philippines is preparing to consecrate itself to Divine Mercy as a sign of national unity. The country's Bishops' Conference has c ...
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  14 April 2025
  ASIA/MYANMAR - Palm Sunday and Holy Week among the rubble: “Christ is among the displaced” Mandalay (Agenzia Fides) - In Mandalay, Palm Sunday was celebrated among the rubble “as a sign of resilience and Christian joy in the midst of devastation and suffering,” says Fr. John Kyaw Thu Ya, parish priest of O ...
• 12 April 2025
  ASIA/INDIA - Erection of the ecclesiastical province of Calicut, India, and appointment of first metropolitan archbishop Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has erected the ecclesiastical province of Calicut, India, elevating the see of Calicut to a metropolitan Church and assigning to it as suffragans the diocese of Kannur and ...
• 12 April 2025
  ASIA/INDIA - Appointment of auxiliary bishop of Dumka Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Sonatan Kisku, until now vicar general of the diocese of Dumka and parish priest of Saint Mary’s, as auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Dumka, I ...