Pope Leo XIV condemned a recent massacre at a church-run hospital in Byambwe, North Kivu, DR Congo, urging prayer and global action to protect vulnerable faith communities. Authorities say fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces killed at least 17 people—including nursing mothers—and set the hospital on fire, with several newborns possibly kidnapped. Survivors and clergy described the episode as a terrorist attack; a Human Rights Watch report links the ADF to other mass killings in eastern Congo. The pope called for an end to violence and for believers to work together for the common good.
Pope Leo XIV Condemns Deadly Byambwe Hospital Massacre, Urges Global Action to Protect Christians
Pope Leo XIV condemned a recent massacre at a church-run hospital in Byambwe, North Kivu, DR Congo, urging prayer and global action to protect vulnerable faith communities. Authorities say fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces killed at least 17 people—including nursing mothers—and set the hospital on fire, with several newborns possibly kidnapped. Survivors and clergy described the episode as a terrorist attack; a Human Rights Watch report links the ADF to other mass killings in eastern Congo. The pope called for an end to violence and for believers to work together for the common good.
02:01 AM, 11/18/2025Conflict
Pope Leo XIV denounces attack on civilians in North Kivu
Pope Leo XIV publicly condemned the recent assault on civilians and Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), calling attention to what he described as a disturbing global pattern of violence against faith communities.
In a statement posted on his official X account, the pope said: “In various parts of the world, Christians suffer discrimination and persecution. I think especially of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries from which we frequently hear of attacks on communities and places of worship. … I accompany in prayer the families of Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where in recent days there has been a massacre of civilians. Let us pray that all violence may cease and that believers may work together for the common good.”
What happened in Byambwe
Authorities reported that at least 17 people were killed when fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militant group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in 2019, stormed a church-run diocesan health center in the village of Byambwe, North Kivu, according to The Associated Press. Local officials said the attackers entered late at night, killed patients in their beds and set the facility ablaze.
Col. Alain Kiwewa, the local administrator, told the Associated Press that breastfeeding women were among the victims and were found with their throats slit in their hospital beds.
Vatican News described the incident as “a terrorist attack on civilians,” citing accounts from survivors and clergy. Rev. Giovanni Piumatti, an Italian missionary who served for more than five decades in the Diocese of Butembo-Beni, told Vatican News the militants looted medical supplies, torched the hospital and destroyed 27 nearby homes. He called the violence “atypical” for the ADF and said the group has increasingly used extreme brutality, including killing mothers while breastfeeding.
Context and aftermath
The Little Sisters of the Presentation operated the Byambwe hospital, providing maternal care and basic surgery in an area with very limited medical infrastructure. The Associated Press reported that several newborns may have been kidnapped during the attack.
The ADF has been implicated in repeated attacks on civilians, churches and religious facilities in eastern Congo. A Human Rights Watch report dated Aug. 6, 2025, said the group killed more than 40 people, including children, at a nighttime church gathering in Komanda, Ituri province, and has been linked to numerous killings and abductions in the region.
Rev. Piumatti also condemned what he called the “shameful silence” of the international community, arguing that economic interests tied to North Kivu’s mineral wealth have enabled armed groups to operate with relative impunity.
Pope Leo XIV’s appeal for prayer and international attention underscores urgent calls for protection of vulnerable communities and stronger efforts to stop attacks on places of worship and humanitarian facilities. The Associated Press contributed reporting to this account.