Vatican:

The Vatican news agency Agenzia Fides, on Saturday, released Fides special feature on the missionaries who were killed in the year 2023. According to the report twenty missionaries, that is a Bishop, eight priests, two non-religious men, a seminarian, a novice and seven laypersons, were murdered during last year. 

The highest number of missionaries killed were recorded in Africa. Nine missionaries that consisted of five priests, two religious men, a seminarian, and a novice lost their lives. In Nigeria alone four including two priests were killed. In America, six missionaries, including the Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David G. O'Connell was killed. The Bishop was found shot dead inside his apartment in March last year.

In Asia, four lay people that include two Catholic students from the Philippines who were engaged in liturgical animation died in a blast that occurred during the Eucharistic celebration at the State University of Mindanao. Whereas in Palestine, two women, a Catholic and an Orthodox, were assassinated while they were engaged in a journey of faith and apostolate.

A lay person who was a sacristan of the parish of Nuestra Senora de La Palma in Spain was killed by a Moroccan. The annual list prepared by the agency not only included Missionaries but also they tried recording all baptized, engaged in the life of the Church, who died in a violent way not only in hatred of the faith. 

The report highlighted that the distinctive feature found amongst the pastoral workers who were killed during last year was that they were all leading a normal life. It was also found that most of them encountered attacks and deaths on their way to celebrate mass or to carry out pastoral activities.

Agenzia Fides noted in their report that during 2001 to 2022 a total of 544 pastoral care workers lost their lives.