17 Catholic Missionaries Killed in 2025 - One Priest Strangled in Poland
The victims included 10 priests, two seminarians, two catechists, two religious sisters and one layman.
For comparison, 14 missionaries were killed in 2024. Since the year 2000, Fides has recorded the deaths of 626 missionaries and pastoral workers worldwide.
Africa Most Affected Continent
It accounted for 10 of the 17 deaths in 2025, including six priests, two seminarians, and two catechists.
The affected countries included Burkina Faso, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Nigeria, where five of the deaths were recorded.
In an interview with Fides, Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, described the situation in Nigeria as one of 'deep sadness' and 'shame'.
He stressed that those killed were not seeking heroism, but were attacked during ordinary daily activities, such as at schools or seminaries.
Other Regions Affected
Outside of Africa, four missionaries were killed in the Americas: a priest in Mexico and the United States and two religious sisters in Haiti.
In Asia, two deaths were recorded: a priest in Myanmar and a lay teacher in the Philippines.
In Europe, one priest was killed. Parish priest Grzegorz Dymek, 58, was found strangled in his rectory in Kłobuck, Poland, on February 13. Alerted by neighbors who heard shouting, police apprehended a 52-year-old man — a former police officer who had been dismissed from the force — at the scene. He later confessed to the crime. No motive for the killing has been officially explaine.
Stories Behind the Numbers
Among the victims highlighted by Fides is Emmanuel Alabi, a young Nigerian seminarian. He died after being subjected to a forced march by kidnappers following an attack on the minor seminary in Ivianokpodi.
Father Arul Carasala, a Catholic priest serving in Kansas, was shot and killed on April 3, 2025, in the rectory of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Seneca. A 66-year-old man, Gary L. Hermesch, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Authorities stated that the attack was intentional, but no official motive has been disclosed.
In Haiti, Sisters Evanette Onezaire and Jeanne Voltaire, members of the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, were killed in March by armed gang members. Their deaths occurred amid escalating violence and deepening instability across the country.
In Myanmar, Father Donald Martin became the first Catholic priest killed since the outbreak of the ongoing conflict. His mutilated body was found on church grounds in February.
Picture: Fides.org, #newsUdvaaququx