Source: www.persecution.org
Date: July 30, 2022
Burkina Faso (International Christian Concern) – According to Aid to the Church in Need International, Catholic churches in Burkina Faso are suffering interference by Islamic groups in the country. In many cases, militants are entering the churches during the service and forcing men and women to sit separately. In other instances, the sermons are being replaced with Islamic sermons. With this being the case, many people in the villages are not receiving proper pastoral care, and the pastoral care that is occurring is only because it is permitted by Islamists.
This recent interference comes on the heels of an attack that killed 20 people on July 3. It also follows another recent incident in which a New Orleans native, Sister Suellen Tennyson, was abducted from her bed in Burkina Faso in April of 2022. At 83, radicals took her without her glasses, phone, or medication in her nightclothes. She has yet to be found.
Once a harmonious nation, Burkina Faso has come under the shadow of radical Islamists since 2015 and has suffered like many other Sahel countries in Africa. The deliberate targeting of Christian worship sites has been one of the main goals of the radical Islamic groups targeting the region ever since they started taking root there.
HOW TO PRAY: Pray for the ability to worship freely in Burkina Faso. Pray for the gospel to spread throughout Burkina Faso. Please also be in prayer for the safety and recovery of Sister Suellen Tennyson. Please continue to pray for Burkina Faso and for the end of Islamic extremism. Pray for those who engage in horrendous crimes against humanity, that they will experience the love of Jesus and be guided from darkness to light. Please also pray for the Lord to protect and strengthen the persecuted church, and to provide healing to all those affected by violence.