Pope Francis told the General Audience on Wednesday to remember in their prayers the numerous Christians who experience violence on a daily basis.
He exhorted everyone to pray for the soul of the Nigerian priest who had been killed the previous Sunday and to keep remembering and praying for the suffering Ukrainians.
Father Isaac Achi of the Diocese of Minna in northern Nigeria, who was assassinated last Sunday in his parish home, was the subject of most of his speech.
Bandits had targeted Father Achi and Father Collins Omeh, an assistant parish priest, at the Church of St. Peter and Paul’s house in Kafin-Koro, in the Paikoro district.
Fr. Achi was burned alive inside the house by the unnamed gunmen, who also attacked and injured Fr. Omeh as he tried to flee.
After that, the Pope spoke of “battered Ukraine,” urging everyone to remember the people in their prayers since they “greatly need [our] closeness, consolation, and above all peace.”
He also recalled the most recent missile attack, which occurred last Saturday killing and injuring a large number of civilians, including children.
He said; “The images and the testimonies of this tragic episode are a powerful appeal to our consciences. No one can remain indifferent!”
According to media sources, the Russian missile strike on a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday resulted in 45 fatalities, 79 injuries, and 19 missing persons.
